2012-02-11 14:25:03
CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Zhang
Global Times
Authorities of Guangdong province now say that mainlanders who breach the one-child policy while seeking to give birth in Hongkong will be fined.
The statement comes as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region witnesses a growing number of mainland mothers flocking to the region to give birth in order to obtain local residency.
Local officials in Hong Kong have called for legal amendments to end the "birth tourist" tide for fear that unregulated arrivals could dry up limited public resources.
In 2010, mainland women accounted for one-third of the newborns in Hong Kong, up from 620 in 2001. Last year, about 43,000 mainland women gave birth in Hong Kong.
The surge in mainland mothers going to Hong Kong to deliver their babies has prompted growing resentment against mainlanders in the SAR.
These sentiments came to a head recently after the Hong Kong-based Apple Daily carried a full page advertisement last week, demanding the local government stop mainland pregnant women from entering the city.
The ad featured a huge locust occupying the tip of Lion Rock against the backdrop of Victoria Harbor symbolizing mainlanders' use of the city's resources.
Noting that penalties for breaking the family planning policy in the mainland have a limited effect in preventing the influx, experts say that limits set by the HK government would be more effective.
Experts also pointed out that high medical cost for deliveries have brought significant profits for local hospitals, and that could be one reason why Hong Kong did not take immediate action.
Shanghai Daily
A real estate developer is slapped with a 500,000 yuan fine for destroying the courtyard residence of a famous Chinese architect in downtown Beijing.
The developer, Fuheng Real Estate which is a subsidiary of China Resources, was also ordered to restore the brick-and-tile compound.
Fuheng bulldozed the traditional-style courtyard in Beizongbu Hutong without an official approval last December.
The courtyard was once the home of Liang Sicheng, recognized as the "father of modern Chinese architecture" and his wife, Lin Huiyin, also an accomplished architect and scholar during the 1930s.
The compound was listed as a cultural heritage under protection by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in 2009.
The demolishment has sparked outcries among the netizens, who criticize the real estate developer for demolishing cultural heritage for seeks of commercial profits.
THE AUSTRALIAN
An accountant has been sentenced to seven years in jail for stealing $45 million from her employer, ING Holdings in Australia.
In sentencing her in court, the Judge described as "staggering" the size of the amount she stole from ING over a five-year period.
When police went to her workplace, they found over 20 boxes stored under her desk and nearby.
The boxes are filled with large quantities of jewellery, champagne, crystal and Michael Jackson memorabilia.
It's said that the woman once spend millions of dollars in a single lunch hour and lavished gifts on the shop assistants.
The Judge said the women's gifts of over 1 million dollars to one shop assistant is consistent with her wanting to be loved and accepted.
The woman was also found to be engaged in frequent sex with an ING supervisor, she claimed to the police that and the part of the reason for engaging in fraud was resentment towards ING and her wanting revenge.
THE TELEGRAPH
Psychologists discovered that people become "motivated" when they know an experience is about to be completed.
The University of Michigan study found that this led to a person thinking the experience would end happily.
In the study, the researchers fed 52 male and female students five small chocolates of different flavours before asking them to rate their enjoyment as they ate.
The flavours were ranked in different orders with some volunteers being told the chocolate was their last while others received no such warning.
The study found those with the warnings found the last chocolate tastier than others.
It's believed that the findings could add weight to the saying "leaving the best for last".
But a graduate student in social psychology said the findings could have negative implications on other aspects of life such as examiners marking their final paper.
Meanwhile, candidates who interviewed first for a job may be viewed less favourably than those who are seen last.
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