Upcoming Events and Call for Participation

v     00七中国科协年会九月将在湖北召开 (9/8-14)

v     函:第九届世界华商大会 (日本神户、大阪9/14-17

v     Trade Show for Health & Physical Activity Professionals – The 123rd AAHPERD Convention & Expo (2008)

v     欢迎您参加820日将举办上海市侨资企业信息沙龙

 

News and Announcements

v     Dr. Howard Wang of CSUF met with Sun Yat-sen University Delegation

v     浙大引進海外雙聘教授UCLA劉克峰 與海歸不同 不需全職 只借重教授智力

v     East Meets West in Higher Education: Perspectives from National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan)

v     有关帕塞迪纳2008年玫瑰花车游行北京奥运花车听证会的报道

v     Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard’s comments on BEIJING FLOAT IN 2008 ROSE PARADE

v     应试教育阻碍了中国人迈向诺贝尔奖的步伐 (崔刚教授)

v     China plans to survey every inch of soil on the moon

v     中國通貨膨脹失控了嗎?

v     Unemployment to remain a headache in China

v     II型糖尿病有突破口

v     美科学家从植物中提取胰岛素 可有效治疗糖尿病

v     Chinese rural youths face marital difficulties

v     统计表明有关美国男孩竞争力下降论断似乎有些夸张

v     让学生在未来占据先机  英名校三岁学童必修汉语

v     Shanghai Jiao-Tong University recruits SOH president worldwide

v     不必戴着道德眼镜看“四成状元选择出国”

v     十万日本人在华任职

v     China has 18,000 military schools for juveniles

v     专家提醒:男性常翘“二郎腿”可影响生殖健康

v     哈佛美女教授挑战爱因斯坦 地球存在第五度空间

v     70% of Chinese AIDS patients fail to take medical check

v     大陆大学生10大不良生活方式

v     新动态 - 大陆"捆绑式腐败"大行其道: 领导得大头 职工得小头

v     China might take tightening policy to handle inflation problem

v     日本科学家找到防止水在低温下结冰的天然物质

v     德国科学家发明用体温发电新技术

v     Large amount of hot money flows into China

v     美國學校的品德教育走向

v     美房市低迷拖垮經濟? 專家指目前沒有任何衰退跡象 華爾街擔心貸款弊病惡化

v     Most think there is an English learning boom in society

v     英国科学家对男性做试验 发现西红柿汤有助壮阳

v     发现:人收入越高性欲越强

v     Nuclear emergency platform put into trial operation

v     台高考发榜 平均一科不到三分就可念大学

v     中国每十秒有1人死于心血管病 启动健康激励计划

v     China's foreign trade nears $1.2 trln

v     美汉语热受追捧 预计到2010年将有一亿人学汉语

v     习近平: 领导干部要“过好五关”

v     Survey: Rural kids keener on studies

 

求才、留学、移民、及獎學金申請

v     移民局解答按照7月份职业移民排期报I-485绿卡申请的相关问题之三(李相如)

v     英美澳等国留学费用涨啦!英国明年上涨5%10%

v     意大利公立大学(本科、硕士)学费全免

v     日本留学签证今年很难 赴日必须做足准备

v     自费留学渐成趋势 留学申请中的八大误解

v     留学韩国奖学金项目多

v     美国高校前途最被看好的10个新颖专业

v     留學,保險了嗎?

v     你为何遭到拒签?细数美国留学拒签三大缘由

v     留学准备先知道:全球哪些专业经久不衰

v     40% top Chinese students choose to study abroad

 

==========================================================

 00七中国科协年会九月将在湖北召开 (9/8-14)

由中国科协和湖北省人民政府共同举办,湖北省科协承办的二00七中国科协年会,将于九月八日至十四日在武汉举行。中国科协年会是中国高层次、综合性、大规模的科技盛会,每年有选择地与有关省、自治区、直辖市人民政府联合举办一次。自一九九九年创办以来,已先后在杭州、西安、长春、成都、沈阳、博鳌,乌鲁木齐、北京举办过。今年年会将围绕“节能环保,和谐发展”的主题,在华中科技大学和武汉大学分别设立十五个分会场;还设立了十二个湖北特色的专题论坛,并将在湖北有关学校、社区、企业和市州举行大型系列科普活动。

 

本届年会代表主要以高校教师、博士生、博士后、研究院所的研究人员、企业工程师和科技人员、科协系统有关人员为主,并特别邀请党和国家领导人、海内外著名科学家、省级官员及有关部门、地区代表出席。年会期间,预计参会总人数约六千人。其中,初步确定与会的获诺贝尔奖的华裔科学家和中国科学院、中国工程院院士有一百五十多人。

 

本届年会期间,海内外专家将就许多重大科技前沿课题展开讨论,如信息与通信技术发展论坛中,将就中国三G技术的发展与市场前景展开分析;三峡工程建成后对长江中游的影响论坛中,涉及到三峡工程建成后长江中游河道演变及崩岸研究、江湖关系变化、沿江涵闸泵影响、防洪形势与对策等重大课题;核能开发与内陆核电建设专家论坛中,专家将围绕核能与社会民生、核能设计与运行管理、内陆核电周边环境及公众反应、核电对周边经济发展贡献等多方面进行研讨,为有关部门决策服务。

 

截至目前,已接受邀请在中国科协年会开幕式当天作主题报告的官员和专家有:全国人大常委会原副委员长、中国科学院院士周光召、湖北省省长罗清泉、中国科技部长万刚、中国卫生部长陈竺、中国心理学会理事长张侃、英国诺丁汉大学校长杨福家、中国气象局原局长秦大河院士和武汉大学教授、两院院士李德仁等。

 

===============================================================

函:第九届世界华商大会 (日本神户、大阪9/14-17

 

各地方政府及企业界高层负责人士:

世界华商大会是世界华人华商最大的国际盛会,也是中国政府及企业界招商引资或商贸合作的广阔舞台。世界华商大会以“在商言商”弘扬中华民族文化为宗旨,在全世界华侨华人华商中具有举足轻重的重要影响力。十多年来,世界华商大会已成为世界各地华商促进经贸合作的枢纽及桥梁。同时,世界华商大会也有效地促进了华人华商服务当地经济,推动了所在地之国家和地区的经济发展。举世瞩目的第九届世界华商大会,即将于今(2007)年的914日至917日在日本的神户及大阪召开。

本会(世界华人华商联合会)作为第九届世界华商大会的重要海外协办单位,负责邀请及组织由中国境内之各级政府和招商投资机构之领导人、大中型国有及民营企业的董事长、总经理或高级领导人共同组成“世华会贵宾团(以下简称<贵宾团>)”参加本第九届之世界华商大会,为<贵宾团>成员组织量身订做的专项招商引资、商贸合作、展示展览等活动,更好地达成最佳的招商合作成果。

<贵宾团>将由本会<世界华人华商联合会>提供大会正常议程以外之贵宾服务项目:

1、有关<贵宾团>成员入境日本之所需之所有签证手续、乘机、接机以及会议期间住宿均由本会统一承办。

2、会议期间的“商贸合作展览”由本会组织“贵宾团服务小组”,以加强对贵宾的服务。

3、在大会期间,本会与大会组委会、日本中小企业协会等共同组织专场之“商贸合作洽谈会”,进行合作项目的洽谈及签约。

4、本<贵宾团>之成员,如经提出申请并符合条件者可成为<世界华人华商会>之理事成员,并免缴全部之入会费用。

 

现将出席本次第九届世界华商大会之有关事项,报告如下:

 

1)报名截止:20078

2)举办日期:2007914  庆祝活动(神户)

               2007915  开幕式、分论坛(神户)

               2007916  论坛(神户)

               2007917  闭幕式(大阪)

3)举办地点:日本神户及大阪

4)出席对象:对招商或投资有兴趣之政府官员及商界企业之领导人。

5)本会财务安排委托世界华人华商联合会所属之企业<北京华迪联合投资有限公司>全权代理。所有有关本次大会的汇款请汇至:

      名:北京华迪联合投资有限公司

    开户行:中国建设银行北京永安支行

      号:11001042300053004063

 

世界华人华商联合会中国秘书处 

址:北京市朝阳区建国路88SOHO现代城4-2203

联系人:

电话:+(86)-10-81715547传真:+(86)-10-81715547

:  86-13439181619

电邮:2007sjhsdh@163.com

 

第九届世界华商大会简介

举世瞩目的第九届世界华商大会,即将于今(2007)年914日(星期五)至917日(星期一)共四天,在日本的神户及大阪举行。

 

两年一届的全球华商盛会

 

这项两年一度的全球顶级华商聚集的国际盛会,已经成功举办了八届,即新加坡(第1届,1991年)、香港(第2届,1993年)、泰国(第3届,1995年)、加拿大(第4届,1997年)、澳洲(第5届,1999年)、中国(第6届,2001年,南京,江泽民致贺词,朱镕基、李瑞环及有关部委领导参会)、马来西亚(第7届,2003年)、以及韩国(第8届,2005年,首尔,卢武铉总统等多国领导人与会出席)。通过历届主办地国家政府的鼎力支持及世界各国华商及与商务有关部门之代表们的广泛参与,“世界华商大会”已成为全球知名华人华商聚首交流的重大国际性会议。同时也成为广大海外华人华侨华商关心祖国,为祖国的经济文化建设,为实现中华民族的伟大复兴和发展的大会。

 

华商是中华民族复兴的重要经济力量,也是改革开放以来国内引进外资的主要来源(占6070%

 

华商的经济就是一个世界经济发展的缩影,也就是中国经济高速发展的主要外资来源。据统计,在中国大陆所有引进的外资之中,华商资金就占了6070%。世界华商大会这一个经济合作及交流的平台效应也就非常地明显。比如,在第六届世界华商大会期间(在中国南京举办),为众多企业制造了大量招商引资机会,大大推进了中国经济的发展,使许多企业通过世界华商大会这一平台,获得了巨大的收获及成果。当前海外华商寻求投资的资金及通过华商引进的外资有数千亿元,对国内的能源、发电、交通、矿产、农业环保以及高科技等项目表现出强烈的投资愿望,这对在世界性之产业整合中的中国经济有着非常宝贵的良好机遇。世界华商大会提供了全球华商们交流的舞台,大会期间,大家欢聚一堂,交流可贵的实际经营管理经验以及商业投资的资讯,为引资成功提供了最好的条件。

 

国际经贸合作的良机

当今日本及许多国家的高级领导人,世界80多个国家的华人华商100强企业的老板及最高层经营者(如被邀请与会之名单之中,即有世界第一大华商企业及中国香港长江实业集团主席李嘉诚先生,香港新世界集团主席郑裕彤先生以及香港新鸿基集团主席郭炳湘先生等),日本的100强企业,以及世界各地著名的华人华商领袖和众多华人华侨组织代表团等。

由于主办单位将今年预定与会之名额限定在2500人,因此可预期的是报名者将会因捷足先登而得与会,但稍晚报名者则很可能因名额已满而只有望会兴叹,待来会也就是2009年再趁早报名。

 

第九界华商大会行程安排

第一天:       

914日: 搭乘国际航班前往大阪,抵达后导游接机,入住酒店休息,晚上参加华商大会组委会晚宴。

 

第二天:        神户

915日:酒店早餐后前往会场参加华商大会开幕式,下午华商大会交流活动,本届大会首次举行此类活动,为参会嘉宾提供自我宣传的场所。晚上参加大会组委会晚宴。

 

第三天:        神户

916 酒店早餐后前往华商大会分组专题讨论会。该讨论会分为3场:内容分别是《世界华商与日本商界未来合作前景》;《寄语21世纪》;《关于中华文化》。同时设有分会场主题内容待定。晚饭安排神户当地特色美食。

 

第四天:        神户—大阪

917日:酒店早餐后参加华商大会考察,参观,游览(事先报名分组)。下午前往大阪国际会议场参加华商大会闭幕式。组委会闭幕晚宴。

 

第五天:        大阪—箱根

918:酒店早餐后早餐后乘新干线到达日本著名的观光度假胜地-箱根,

前往富士山五合目(乘车上山),亲临富士山。游览箱根国立公园、芦之湖乘游船游览,然后游览日本著名的大涌谷,观赏火山口热气奔腾的喷泉及硫磺山的奇观。入住日式温泉酒店,品尝正宗日本料理,自由享受日式温泉浴。

 

第六天:        箱根—横滨—东京

919:早餐后横滨游览亚洲最大规模的唐人街-中华街、山下海滨公园。

后赴东京前往著名人工岛-台场,乘游船欣赏东京湾的美丽景色。参观丰田汽车展示厅,欣赏最新款汽车,漫步集休闲、娱乐、美食为一体的维纳斯城堡。之后前往市政府所在地都厅,于45层展望台俯瞰东京的全景。之后前往新宿歌舞伎町。

 

第七天:        东京/北京

920:早餐后前往皇居参观皇居广场,在皇居二重桥、秋叶原电器街。

中餐后乘国际航班返回北京。

 

1.国际机票(含税)

2.全程豪华5星单人间住宿,日本酒店内早餐。

3.中文导游全程陪同,45座车,司导分开。

4.境外人身意外保险 54万元人民币

5.景点门票:五合目、新干线(大阪-箱根)

 

报价: 5星酒店单人单间29800元,5星酒店双人间26800元。

 

=======================================================

Trade Show for Health & Physical Activity Professionals – The 123rd AAHPERD Convention & Expo (2008)

 

Good afternoon:
Showcase your product or service to more than 6,000 physical and health education teachers, dance educators, and sport and recreation professionals. Exhibit at the 123rd Annual American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Convention and Exposition in Fort Worth, Texas.

I've attached the Exhibit Application to this email so you can reserve your space now at 2007 booth pricing!
In thinking about why you should exhibit, consider that 97.5% of all AAHPERD convention attendees visited the exhibit hall, and of those who attended, 45% spent 1-2 hours in the exhibit hall and 60% made purchase from an exhibit vendor.

You can't beat the traffic - and the exposure!
Check out our website to learn more http://member.aahperd.org/convention/ or contact me for more information.

Hope to see you in Fort Worth!

Christy Eaton
Director of Development
American Alliance for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD)
1900 Association Drive Reston, VA 20191
(703) 476-3400 main (703) 476-3423 direct (703)476-9527 fax
email: ceaton@aahperd.org  website: www.aahperd.org

 

==========================================================

欢迎您参加820日将举办上海市侨资企业信息沙龙

 

为进一步做好为侨资企业服务工作,市政府侨办与市侨商会将联合组织上海侨资企业信息沙龙,以创建一个侨资企业、在沪侨商与本市有关部门、企业的交流平台,为广大侨资企业提供政策及商机信息。

 

首次上海侨资企业信息沙龙活动将于820日下午200在市政协俱乐部三楼丽都厅(北京西路860号,泰兴路口)举行。沙龙活动中还将举行《群星璀璨创业路上海市明星侨资企业风采》一书的首发仪式及上海市侨资企业法律咨询热线的开通仪式,届时市政府及市政协领导将出席仪式并讲话。相关政府部门及企业将发布政策及商机信息,并进行交流。今后市政府侨办、市侨商会将每两月定期举办上海侨资企业信息沙龙活动。

 

欢迎在沪侨资企业出席。有意参加者请将姓名、公司名称、职务、联系电话等通过Email发送至市政府侨办经科处,jkc@overseas.sh.cn 。邮件中请注明信息沙龙。如有意在沙龙上发布有关商机信息,请将发布内容电子邮件发送,我们将审核后选择确定。若有疑问,请致电62491712

 

上海市侨办经科处

2008.8.13

===================================================================

Dr. Howard Wang of CSUF met with Sun Yat-sen University Delegation

Sun Yat-sen University
Cal State Fullerton student affairs representatives met with vice deans and directors from Sun Yat-sen University Aug. 2 to discuss the collaboration between academic affairs and student affairs and its benefits for student learning. In the front row, center, are Howard Wang, associate vice president for student affairs; second from right is Kandy Mink-Salas, dean of students.

 

Checking Out Collaboration

Chinese Officials Learn How Student and Academic Affairs Work Together to Promote Student Success - August 6, 2007

A group of 35 vice deans and directors from Sun Yat-sen University visited campus Aug. 2 to learn about collaboration practices between CSUF’s student and academic affairs to enhance student learning. The group attended two lectures in the Titan Student Union before heading to UCLA, the university hosting their visit, said Howard Wang, associate vice president for student affairs.

Kandy Mink-Salas, dean of students, left, and Howard Wang, associate vice president for student affairs, right, greet Wang Jun, assistant president of Sun Yat-sen University, and Jane Permaul, UCLA’s emerita assistant vice chancellor of student affairs, during a visit to campus this month.
Kandy Mink-Salas, dean of students, left, and Howard Wang, associate vice president for student affairs, right, greet Wang Jun, assistant president of Sun Yat-sen University, and Jane Permaul, UCLA’s emerita assistant vice chancellor of student affairs, during a visit to campus this month.

Four years ago, Wang and Jane Permaul, UCLA emerita assistant vice chancellor of student affairs, visited Zhongshan University, where she provided training to student affairs directors and their staff. Through that connection, Wang said, “Dr. Permaul invited the Sun Yat-sen group to visit Cal State Fullerton because she’s aware of our great collaboration between student and academic affairs in many of our programs, such as Freshman Programs, the University 100 class, Freshman Orientation and, especially, the assistant deans of the colleges, who report both to Kandy Mink-Salas, the dean of students, and to each of their respective college deans.”

================================================================================

浙大引進海外雙聘教授UCLA劉克峰 與海歸不同 不需全職 只借重教授智力

浙江大學數學中心博士生徐浩的論文最近被美國科學院院刊接受發表,這是中國高校首次在這一刊物上刊登數學論文。徐浩的指導老師劉克峰目前同時擔任浙江大學與美國加州大學洛杉機分校教授,雙聘教授的身分是一種體制創新。 與海歸相比,共用教授有雙重身分,不需要調檔、不是全職服務於某個機構,浙江為此特別創造出智力引進新名詞。

 

哈佛大學博士劉克峰,現任教加州大學洛杉磯分校,2003年起擔任浙江大學光彪講座教授、數學中心執行主任兼數學系主任。目前人在杭州,他已經連續在杭州待了快半年,最近他要完成丘成桐班的招生,和同事們一起在浙江打造全國乃至全世界聞名的數學中心。

20028月,正當劉克峰準備去哈佛,導師丘成桐來電問他能不能去浙大數學中心?劉克峰三個孩子都在美國長大,中文都說得不好,擔心他們回到中國,學習會跟不上。加上中國複雜的行政體制和人事制度也讓許多教授望而不歸。恰在此時,浙大拋出智力引進方案。學校願聘請劉克峰為光彪講座教授,按月支付高於普通教授的薪酬,並且可以保留海外教職,旨在推動浙大學科發展。於是2003年劉克峰成為浙大首位引進的光彪講座教授。

 

劉克峰一下子覺得自己像年輕小伙子,剛剛開始創業。因為在海外他已是終身教授,每年上少量的課,帶幾個研究生。但浙大數學中心和數學系正處於飛速成長期,有做不完的事情。劉克峰把海外管理體制搬到數學系來,實行教授治系,讓第一線的教授掌握自主權;實行網上辦公制度,倡導教授和學生在網上進行交流,花大力氣建設數學學科圖書館,舉辦研究生與教授學術交流年會;營造國際一流的學術氛圍。報導說,美國科羅拉多州MESA STATE COLLEGE終身教授吳忠超是浙江工業大學天體物理研究所負責人,前幾天,吳忠超剛剛離開浙江去義大利,這次他在浙江住了兩個多月。繼2002年首次與浙工大簽定聘用協議後,今年5月他再度續簽合同。

 

此外,哈佛教授、美國人文社會科學院院士杜維明,台灣成功大學前校長、美國海軍研究實驗室諮詢專家吳京,麻省理工學院國際電磁學院院長孔金甌,國際數學大師丘成桐,先後在浙江露面。他們都是在智力引進的方式下創智浙江。

 

=========================================================================

East Meets West in Higher Education: Perspectives from National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan)

 

By Michael M.C. Lai

President, National Cheng Kung University

Invited speech delivered at EITC 2007

August 10, 2007

Princeton University

 

I am honored to be in the company of this distinguished panel of speakers in the University Leadership Forum.  I am the president of National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan, which will soon welcome the chairman of this session, Da-Hsuan Feng, to be its Senior Executive Vice President.  I received my medical school education in Taiwan and postgraduate education in the U. S. and spent my entire scientific career as a virologist in the University of Southern California and Howard Hughes Medical Institute before I returned to Taiwan 4 years ago.  Thus, I have personal experience of the higher education system in both the East and the West. 

 

NCKU originally started out as an engineering school and is now one of the largest comprehensive universities in Taiwan, covering various disciplines from engineering, liberal art and medicine to management.  It is located in a historical town Tainan.  Most of its student body of 20,000 are the cream of crop of elite students in Taiwan.  College entrance in Taiwan is extremely competitive.  High school students spend enormous efforts studying for entrance exam in order to gain entrance to NCKU and other elite universities.  On the other hand, there are so many universities and colleges in Taiwan that 97% of college applicants can be accepted to one college or another.  So, there is a heated debate on the fundamental nature of higher education in Taiwan.  Is it an elite education or is it a paper mill for mass production of college degrees?  What kind of college graduates are we turning out?

 

Another confounding issue of higher education is that as the world becomes flat, in the words of Thomas Friedman, ironically there is less and less incentive for young people to go abroad to understand other culture, because people can now stay in the comfort of their own world, while doing business with the rest of the world.  In my generation of 30-40 years ago, most of elite college graduates from Taiwan studied and stayed in the U.S., no doubt lured by the comparatively superior learning and working conditions in the west.  This used to be decried as "brain drain", but many of these foreign-educated individuals, like myself and many of the speakers in this meeting, became the core of the leadership in their home countries when they eventually returned.  So, "brain drain" becomes "brain circulation", which provides nourishment for advancement of local economy and culture.  However, as societies everywhere, like Taiwan, become prosperous, fewer and fewer students want to study abroad.  The "brain drain" dwindles; so does the international cultural exchanges.  Young become intellectually isolated in their mind.  Are we creating disincentives for this form of human communication and mutual understanding?  In the U.S., the incentive for young people to study other cultures is even more meager.

 

So, what kind of college graduates are we educating? Are we turning out students who can be global citizens in the future and who can cope with the exploding and changing landscapes of future world?

 

The original purpose of universities as we know, such as Harvard of 17th century, was to educate good citizens (only men, but not women) of society, with Renaissance values.  Then, starting in19th century, modern universities started to pattern after German universities; they began to emphasize the advancement of scholarship and creation of new knowledge.  So, university professors and students were encouraged to do original research.  This trend creates what we now know as research universities.  College graduates are well-trained scientists, scholars, professionals, teachers, skilled office or industrial workers and so on.  These are intellectuals and elite of our society. 

 

As the growth of information and knowledge became explosive, the training of professional knowledge and skills in universities became necessarily more focused and narrower, and the breadth of knowledge was sacrificed for the sake of depth.  College graduates turned out to be experts of their specialty fields.  However, the explosive growth of knowledge also means that the knowledge and professional training received in university education will be out of date not long after a person graduates from a university.  As the theme of this symposium evidences, emerging technology reshapes every discipline rapidly and constantly.  So, most of average college graduates will soon be on the same playing field regardless of the professional skills they received during university education.  Only those people who had acquired humanistic grounding and life-long self-learning skills have competitive advantages.  Therefore, in the past several decades, the goal of university education has made further switches to emphasize humanistic training and general education.  At NCKU, we have launched several programs to set the goals for undergraduate education:

 

·       Humanities education accompanied by professional training

 

·       Interdisciplinary education

 

·       Creativity training

 

·       Global vision training

 

·       Entrepreneurship and leadership

 

·       Social responsibilities and community involvement

 

I will elaborate on some of these points:

 

First, creativity.  Why creativity?  As world evolves from the age of information, then to the age of knowledge and finally to the age of ideas, creativity becomes the key to keeping up with new knowledge and ideas.  "Creativity" is defined simply as the ability to "generate problems and then solve them" (in the words of a Chinese playwright S.C. Lai).  The lack of creativity training is one of the key differences between the education systems in the East and the West.  In Taiwan, all the students use standard textbooks.  Students are taught to drill test skills, namely how to answer multiple-choice and true-or-false questions reflexively.  Students go to cram schools to do that.  So, students acquire very good fundamental skills and establish solid foundation in math, literature or science.  They are taught to memorize and regurgitate information, but they are rarely required to write essays or thesis.  So, they lack the ability to synthesize conceptually. In young ages, the students in the East have advantages because of their rigid routines and solid grounding, but then they fall behind the Western students in universities, because of the lack of originality and creativity training.  Students in the East work very hard in high school but not in college, opposite to what most students do in the U.S.  There have been 6 Nobel laureates with Chinese or Taiwanese heritage, a respectable number.  Yet, people lamented that these laureates would not have had the chances to receive these awards had they stayed in the East through their careers.  The gist of this comment is that the education system in the East is not conducive to creative minds.  The educators are now trying to alter the culture of this education system in the East, hopefully opening up the mind of young people and freeing their creativity.  At NCKU, we are trying to institute various programs, such as early admission program so that high school students do not have to spend so much time preparing for college entrance exams.

 

In the same vein, students in the East are traditionally encouraged to conform and be loyal and respectful.  They are taught not to express themselves forcefully.  This inward-looking attribute has its virtue but has a negative effect on the development of leadership and entrepreneurship of young people.  We need to balance between the Eastern and Western education philosophy.

 

Next issue is globalization.  It is a two-way process.  First, we provide financial incentives for students to visit or study abroad.  Second, we encourage international students and scholars to visit Taiwan.  The current "study abroad" program in Taiwan is not so much for learning new technology in the West or working in a better environment, as the Taiwanese students used to do thirtysome years ago, when there was a strong disparity between the East and the West.  Now, the playing fields in the East and the West are almost equal.  Rather, the main purpose of international exchange today is to understand other cultures and broaden one's vision.  Such a vision is critical for the competitiveness of future generations.  So, I believe that the goal of globalization efforts in today's university education is different from the old days.  Similarly, the international visitors and students bring in new culture and fresh perspectives that are crucial for turning out global citizens for our future societies.  As a university president, I sometimes hear criticisms that foreign students are inferior in quality and yet they receive preferential treatments; it is unfair.  I believe that such a criticism is near-sighted and ignores the value of these foreign cultures on the intellectual and character development of young men and women.  In the U.S., young people in general are reluctant to explore foreign culture and learn foreign languages. I believe that the universities both in the East and the West need to work hard on promoting internationalization.

 

Finally, social responsibilities and community involvement.  University was thought to be a bastion and a sanctuary of fundamental, pure research to promote the understanding of the nature and the human beings.  But, such an ivory-tower attitude can no longer be applied to the label of universities.  Universities now must transfer and share intellectual properties and knowledge with the society.  As the society demands quick dividends from its investment on higher education, a university must balance between protecting academic freedom and profiting from its own research.  Universities are increasingly being viewed as the source of new technology and industry.  This pressure is particularly higher in less developed countries.  Universities need to balance between free dissemination of their intellectual inventions and restrictive transfer of their intellectual properties to commercial sources.  Yes, universities have responsibilities to share its profit with society, which is not different from what we demand of our students, that is, getting involved with societies.  We ask our students to be concerned with communities and human beings near and far.  We at NCKU thus provide opportunities for students to serve societies and communities.

 

Challenges to run a university are multiple.  At NCKU, we are transforming a traditionally engineering school to a truly comprehensive university with emphasis on humanistic training.  It can best use the Western educational experiences and balance them with the Eastern education philosophy.  I am particularly thrilled by the prospect that Da-Hsuan Feng will soon join NCKU.  Da-Hsuan, like myself, is rich in the education experiences of both the East and the West.  May educators in the East and the West work together to create an ideal university.

 

===================================================================

有关帕塞迪纳2008年玫瑰花车游行北京奥运花车听证会的报道

Report on the Hearing of Pasadena Human Relations Commission

 

A hearing of the public comment on the Beijing Olympics float in the 2008 Rose Parade was held on August 7, 2007 at the Jackie Robinson Center in Pasadena starting at 6:30 pm. This has attracted a large audience of at least 200 people and the local news media. A minority group has used scare tactics to disguise their intention. Most people, who are familiar with their stories, have felt disgusting. Some of the major speakers represented the majority public opinion and have received warm support from the local communities.  Highlights of these statements submitted to the Commission are included in this report for your information.

 

Dr. Chan, Director of Chinese Scholars Association and Chinese American Scholars and Professionals Net of Southern California, described the project as 100% financed by USA citizens and business. It has been designed and planned by a US company in Pasadena. It would be built in Pasadena. By New Year’s Eve thousands of US people would volunteer to decorate the float before the Parade. From the concept to the finish, it is a genuine local project just to say “Celebration of the Beijing Olympics 2008” based on the main theme of the Tournament of 2008. The float is a medium to express the thoughts and voice, just as in 1890’s First Tournament under the Freedom of Speech.

 

He felt that it was important that the law abiding citizens in US should not be selectively discriminated. If to-day the Olympics Float is not permitted, tomorrow even TV broadcast of the Olympics and related events would be challenged or censored by the same excuse. This would be neither American nor what we want in Pasadena.

 

Finally from his experience as a Professor that the best way of learning would be by encouragement rather than spanking. It is undesirable to render the Rose Tournament as a punishing tool. Similar to the Olympics, he advised the Commission to keep the Rose parade as non-political in nature. Dr. Chan is willing to further discuss with the Commission, if necessary.

 

Dr. Sikun Lan of the Roundtable of Southern California Chinese-American Organization on behalf of the support team presented the blessings and best wishes to the City of Pasadena and the Tournament of Roses for having the Beijing Olympics Float. It was unfortunate that the "against" team described a horrible picture of the motherland, which was foreign and unreal for those who have big portion of our families in China. Due to limitation of time he did not have a chance to present the modern China and her human rights situation in his eyes. That was because that issue is not related to the float issue. He would cautious the Commission not to draw conclusions about the current situation in China without further hearings focusing on that issue.

If the Commission would be interested to include a statement on the current situation in China in the recommendations to the City Council, he and his colleagues would write on that topic. He was outrageous of hearing the references to Nazi and World War III. These references were irresponsible and shameless.

Mr. John He, President of the Northwest Chinese Association of United States pointed out that so far in the hearing was that some people were not happy with the fact that Beijing Olympics Rose float would attend the next year's Rose Parade. As a citizen of this great nation, he unconditionally respected the rights of those who were against the Olympic Rose float, however, he personally and firmly believes that nobody, he meant nobody in this world who could stand in the way of this two great nations and stop the people from getting closer and closer in this global village of ours. As a matter of fact, people need each other and all of us cannot live without one another. The Olympics Spirit is Participation. He strongly believes that it would be a great honor for the first time in the history of the city of Pasadena to have a float with the theme of mainland China who represents 1.3 billion Chinese. Imagine the huge impact, millions of Chinese would see from the TV screen or read from the papers that a Beijing Olympic Rose float had appeared in the prestigious Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, USA. In the minds of Chinese People, USA stands for power, freedom, wealth and democracy. There would be no doubt that if this would become a reality, this event would be one of the most influential things that the City of Pasadena has ever done in its city's glorious history.

 

He pointed out that China was not perfect on human rights issue. Neither is US on this matter. The best and most effective way of changing or influencing a nation is to get her involved but not leave her behind. He has lived in the US for 20 years.  He has seen too many wrong conducts of demonizing or politicizing things that relate to issues of China. The truth is, in fact, any of the wrong conducts of demonizing and politicizing has not resolved and will not resolve any issues at hand. These were misleading and would only deepen the misunderstanding and creating more conflicts among the two peoples and between the two countries.

   

Ms Lily Chan, former Mayor of Monterey Park, on behalf of Mr. Charles Sie, a member of the International Bridge to Justice, presented to the Commission about Mr. Sie’s experience as a Advisory Board member of the International Bridge to Justice (www.ibj.org) a human rights (NGO) organization based in Switzerland that is helping China to promote the practice of rule of law.  Mr. Sie has just returned from a visit to China and learned a great deal about the legal reform of its criminal justice system that is still going on there. The bringing about of the practice of rule of law would be not only necessary but also critical to the sustainable political and economic development of China. The only way for any external force that can help China to achieve that goal would be by sharing the value and experience with them. Certainly each society would view human rights and political freedom in terms of its own evolving political circumstances. We all know that in1787 the US constitution was drafted and ratified exclusively for the land owners. The voting rights were extended to all white males in 1850, to women in 1920 and to the Blacks in 1965.  Mr. Sie strongly believes that the bringing in the Beijing Olympic float to the Rose Parade is a good example of sharing American values and experience with hundreds of millions of TV viewers in China eagerly looking forward to host the Olympics for the world.  The adversary approach in dealing with China will not do any good in helping China to evolve into a society that will practice the rule of law similar to ours. 

 

Mr. Sie commented that this should be his own view and it did not in anyway represent the view of International Bridge to Justice. He would be willing to discuss human rights issues with the Commission at a mutual convenient time.

 

Ms. Sue Zhang, Chair of the Roundtable of Southern California Chinese-American Organizations made a presentation to the Commission. The following is the translated version in Chinese.

南加州華人社團聯合會主席张素久女士感谢邀请南加华人社团联合会参加此次听证会,并且给予他们向委员会阐述他们发起和共同承办2008年玫瑰花车游行中的2008年北京奥运为主题的花车的初衷。

南加州华人社团联合会于2005年成立,是加州非营利性公有的志愿者领导的团体。她致力于推动南加州美国华裔组织的交流,促进美中人民的友谊及文化和经济交流,推动成员组织的壮大,加强美国华裔的团结,以及保护美国华裔的利益。南加州华人社团联合会由35个成员组织组成,代表大洛杉矶地区五千以上美国华裔。

南加州华人社团联合会成立以来,他们经常被成员组织及其会员问及能否在这个世界闻名的新年文化性庆典中承办一个表现中国文化和特征的玫瑰花车。由于与艾利丹尼森公司的成功合作和在美国华裔商界中的成功募捐,我们将在200811日的第119届玫瑰花车游行中满足成員们的心愿。花车的主题的选择是容易和显然的,即2008年北京奥林匹克运动会。

             大约100年前,一个作者在一篇杂志的文章中问了三个大问题:第一,中国什么时候会派运动员参加奥运会?第二,中国什么时候会羸得奥运金牌?第三,中国什么时候能主办奥运会?那个时候这些问题只代表了梦想,因为中国当时贫穷且战争频繁。第一个梦想在1932年洛杉矶奥运会上实现了,一位中国运动员参加了男子100米和200米短跑比赛。第二个梦想在1984年又是洛杉矶奥运会上实现了,一位汽手枪运动员为中国获得了第一枚奥运金牌。第三个梦想将要在2008年八月实现。当北京赢得奥运主办权的新闻传开时,成千上万的北京普通居民自发地在北京街头欢庆。我们美国的华裔也由衷地欢庆。仅在这个星期,三场艺术表演将在帕萨迪那市音乐厅和洛杉矶大剧场举行,纪念2008年北京奥运开幕倒计时一周年。

 

             因此认为带有2008年北京奥运的标志的花车最能表现中国文化和中国精神,最能把中国、美国和世界人民联系起来。这个主题也与119届美国花车游行的主题“展现全世界的庆典”吻合地很好。

            南加州华人社团联合会和艾利丹尼森公司共同承办的玫瑰花车得到美国华裔社区的热情欢迎和支持。南加州华人社团联合会的奠基人由十位成功的美国华裔企业家组成,他们是联邦和加州的重要纳税人。他们捐献了建造花车所需的一半的费用。为了无私地支持2008年北京奥运这个主题,他们一致同意不把他们的姓名和公司商标放在花车上,而把地方留给奥运会标志、北京奥运的主题口号“同一个世界同一个口号”以及北京奥运的吉祥物:五个可爱的儿童代表五个中文字“北京欢迎你”。

他们相信北京奥运花车将把和平、公平竞赛和团结的信息带给世界。他们反对将政治问题带入这个文化性活动中。他们认为在这个传统性庆典上表达政治观点是不合适的。他们尊重和执行玫瑰花车游行组委会的所有规则,并且获得了第二十九届北京奥林匹克运动会组织委员会、美国奥委会和国际奥委会的授权使用奥运标志。他们非常感谢Bogaard市长和帕萨迪那市对我们的支持和友谊。他们希望通过类似这样的听证会,大家能听到美国华裔社区的声音,并且美国华裔能进一步地参与他们所居住的城市的公共事物。

 

The Commission is expected to present a report or recommendation to the Pasadena City Council for reference. Anyone, who has valuable opinion, is encouraged to write or contact Mr. Kenneth Hardy, Chair of Pasadena Human Relations Commission, at kennethhardy@sbcglobal.net , or faxed (213) 533-4191 or faxed after hours at (866) 387-8686, and his phone number is (626) 379-7359. Another contact will be Mr. Bill Bogaard, City Mayor, 100 N Garfield Ave, Pasadena CA 91109, Email: bbogaard@ci.pasadena.ca.us; phone (626)-744-4311 and FaxL626)744-3727.

 

================================================================================================

Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard’s comments on BEIJING FLOAT IN 2008 ROSE PARADE (at Human Relations Commission - 8/7)

 

            Thank you for this opportunity to confirm the City Council’s referral of this matter to the Commission.  Questions had been raised about the presence in the 2008 Rose Parade of a float spotlighting the Olympic Games 2008, which take place in Beijing one year from now.  It goes without saying that I and the City Council appreciate your taking up this matter.

 

            This commission is called upon to listen to speakers who address the subject of human rights, and to consider what response the Council might make.  We look forward to receiving your recommendation in the month of October.

 

            I want to start by expressing sympathy and concern to each person who has addressed the Council, and each who will address this Commission, who has experienced, personally or through family or friends, conduct or activity that constitutes an abuse of human rights.  Such events, regardless of where in the world they occur, are properly condemned, and it is my hope that over time every country—all countries—will make progress in offering dignity, freedom and a decent standard of living to all persons.

                       

            At the outset, I want to say that I am an advocate for a float that spotlights the Olympic Games 2008, because I support the values represented by this longstanding, global tradition of athletic competition.  The Olympic Games represent the finest values of human nature.  The Tournament of Roses has celebrated the Olympic Games on several occasions in the past, including Athens, Mexico City, and Los Angeles.  It is an organization that creates festivals, and it believes that the Olympics deserve the recognition they receive by presence in the Rose Parade.

 

            This year’s theme, “Passport to the World’s Celebrations”, seems particularly well suited to spotlight the Olympic Games, since they certainly are among the world’s great celebrations.  The presence for the first time of a float associated with a Chinese city will make history on January 1, 2008.

 

            It is worth noting that the Olympic Games 2008 float is not funded by China or Beijing.  The costs of the float and participation in the Parade are being shared by Avery Dennison International and the Southern California Roundtable of Chinese-American Organizations.  Based on my understanding, China’s participation is limited to Beijing’s grant of a license allowing the presentation of the Olympic rings as part of the float’s design.

 

            My sense is that the human values that the United States holds dear will have greater impact in our own country, and around the world, if we openly seek the opportunity to dialogue with persons of foreign countries.  That is why I have been active in activities organized by Pasadena Sister Cities.  The United States is not perfect, and China is not perfect, but through friendship, exchange and mutual respect, I expect that all of us will learn and be strengthened in our commitment to human rights.

 

            Once again, thank you for your attention to this important matter, and best wishes for success as you gather information, consider the options, and formulate a recommendation to the City Council.

 

            Thank you very much.

============================================================

应试教育阻碍了中国人迈向诺贝尔奖的步伐 (崔刚教授)

诺贝尔奖创立一百多年,为什么一直与拥有世界上最多人口的中国无缘?这一问题已经引起了越来越多的人的思考。其中涉及的问题是多方面的,在人才培养方面,哪些原因阻碍了我们迈向诺贝尔奖的步伐?

 

首先是应试教育,学生从小学到高中,甚至到大学,伴随的是接连不断的各种各样的考试。杨振宁曾率一批诺贝尔奖获得者来华讲学,当有人问到他们当中有没有 “高考状元”时,杨振宁笑说: “按照中国的高考标准,我们都是差生,在中学里,都排在十名以后。”笔者在教学过程中发现,许多研究生总是希望从老师的课堂上得到对于一个问题的最终答案,而科学的前沿都是处于不断的变化与发展之中,不可能有标准答案。在诺贝尔奖获得者朱棣文看来,考试并不重要,学生也不要只满意一个解决方案;重要的是培养一种科学直觉的习惯,用不同方式看待问题。

 

其次,学生知识结构不完整。中学阶段过早的文理分科以及高等教育中过细的专业划分导致了学生知识结构的不合理,文理分科就像一堵墙一样横在学生之间,使得许多学生画地为牢。现代科学发展的基本趋势是文理渗透,学科交叉,狭窄的知识面与专业领域势必会影响到学生创造能力的发展。这种状况只会产生工匠式的研究者,很难产生大师级的人物。笔者一直从事语言学领域的研究,该领域许多卓有成就的人物都具有多学科的知识背景。现代语言学之父索绪尔早年曾学习物理和化学,美国结构主义语言学的代表人物博厄斯曾经获得过物理学博士学位……具有广博的知识面可以使研究者具有更广的视野,更容易产生创造性的思想。

 

缺乏培养科学精神的社会环境,也是一个重要原因。科学研究需要具有科学的精神和态度,需要研究者具有对科学的热情和持之以恒、坚忍不拔的毅力。中国曾经有过一代怀有“科学救国”抱负的知识分子,并造就了一批像华罗庚、钱三强、李四光等著名的科学家,曾几何时,陈景润等一批科学家都是时代的楷模。

 

另外,所有的诺贝尔奖获得者无一不是从小就对科学具有浓厚的兴趣。但是在市场经济时代,少年儿童之中,立志从事科学研究者越来越少,更多的孩子选择做明星、企业家。在选择专业的时候,中学毕业生对于商科的热情已经远远超出了科学。另外,高校的学术环境也会直接影响学生对于科学研究的认识以及科学精神与科学态度的建立。学术研究需要一代代的传承,今天研究者的言行将直接影响到下一代。

 

获得诺贝尔奖具有诸多的偶然性,并涉及多方面的因素,对于能否获得这一奖项,我们应该保持一颗平常心。但是,如果我们能够通过对这一现象的反思,找出自身存在的问题,并加以改进,其意义可能会远远超出获奖本身。

 

===========================================================

China plans to survey every inch of soil on the moon

China plans to survey every inch of the soil on the moon during the Chang'e project, said Ouyang Ziyuan, China's chief scientist for the moon exploration project.

He disclosed the information while attending a seminar given to young people working at various governmental institutions in Guizhou Province last week. “China's current moon exploration project consists of three parts: flying around the moon, landing on the moon and returning from the moon,”the chief scientist said.

 

In the exploration stage, no astronauts will be sent to the moon. Instead, a satellite will be launched to the moon to carry out a thorough and systematic investigation. After the exploration period, China will send a landing vehicle that will arrive at a specific place on the moon. In the third stage, the samples collected from the moon will be sent back to earth, Ouyang Ziyuan said.

 

“There are altogether 15 tons of helium-3 on earth, while on the moon, the total amount of Helium-3 can reach 1-5 million tons. Helium-3 is considered as a long-term, stable, safe, clean and cheap material for human beings to get nuclear energy through controllable nuclear fusion experiments. If we human beings can finally use such energy material to generate electricity, then China might need 10 tons of helium-3 every year and in the world, about 100 tons of helium-3 will be needed every year. This means that the helium-3 reserves on the moon can serve human society for at least 10,000 years,” he said.

 

Many of the tasks proposed in China's moon exploration project have not been tackled in the world before. For instance, China intends to survey every inch of the soil on the moon to see how many helium-3 and other materials are there in the soil. By doing so, China aims to provide the most detailed and reliable information about helium-3 on the moon. Such information will benefit the humankind on the earth, the chief scientist said.

 

===========================================

中國通貨膨脹失控了嗎?(於晶波 )

 

每至年中,有關通脹、通縮的討論便似乎成了中國經濟學界的一道必答題。而今年,這道必答題所受關注的程度之高、討論範圍之廣則令人始料未及。伴隨中國CPI(居民消費價格指數)“血壓”不斷升高,部分學者的悲觀論調開始搶佔輿論高地,他們中的一些人認為,中國經濟已在通脹風險的籠罩之下,中國的通貨膨脹已經開始失控。而另外一些媒體則直截了當以“第三輪通脹高潮臨近”為題來形容當下情勢之緊迫。這些借助於媒體升級放大的悲觀論調其實並非空穴來風。伴隨內地越來越多的食品、日用品加入漲價行列,“漲價年”的輪廓正在民眾抱怨的聲浪中日漸清晰。反應迅速的投行已紛紛調整通脹預期,它們中的多家機構認為,剛剛過去的七月CPI升幅會爬升至百分之五的階梯。

 

中國的通貨膨脹真到了失控的邊緣了嗎?

就當下中國的情勢客觀而言,這樣的判斷其實多少有些危言聳聽。在國家資訊中心專家高輝清看來,儘管時下中國漲聲四起,但尚屬結構性通脹,從當前社會總供給和總需求的狀況看,不存在商品價格總體持續上漲的條件。眼下中國物價勾勒的上升曲線亦證明高輝清所言非虛:當前中國價格上漲仍停留在個別行業,而並非全域性問題,電子、服裝等產品價格仍保持平穩曲線甚至有所下降,因而傳統意義上的通脹魔影並未全面來襲。國家發改委亦借助官方媒體之口表明此輪“農產品漲價總體屬於恢復性上漲”之意,而學界更深入的表述則形容此輪食品漲價是“工農和城鄉之間利益格局調整的正常表現”。

 

中國經濟官員樂觀估計,隨著各項措施下半年逐步到位,食品價格快速上漲的勢頭將得到有效遏制,全年CPI有望控制在百分之四以下。胸有成竹的經濟學家亦認為,中國全年的物價水準在可控範圍之內,不需要出臺更加嚴厲的價格控制政策。儘管內地官學界對當前和未來CPI走勢判斷不乏分歧,但他們對此輪物價上漲的厲惕之心均已表露無遺。短短幾天內,國家發改委已發出多道權杖直指行業結盟式漲價浪潮,而國務院總理溫家寶更是對“哄抬物價”問題親自過問。而可以預見的是,如果內地物價持續疾步上升,更多的後續措施將“虎視眈眈”。官方的及時出手,必將延緩扣響全面通脹的冰冷扳機。雖然中國目前尚不能匯出全面通貨膨脹的結論,但此間學者仍提醒,現時決策者不得不警惕通貨膨脹預期的形成。他們認為,通脹預期一旦形成並成燎原之勢,或將成為下一階段推動物價上升的一大動能,屆時,物價上行壓力將不免升級,調控難度亦將陡然加碼。

 

=====================================================

Unemployment to remain a headache in China

 According to a report by the People's Daily Overseas Edition, unemployment might remain a headache in China in the next 15 years, as the demand for jobs has been greatly underestimated.

 

Some people say that China will face labor shortage by 2009. However, statistics show that there is still a large surplus labor force of at least 120 million people in the rural areas, while many laid-off workers and college graduates in cities are badly in need of jobs. In fact, nearly 12 million Chinese might not find jobs every year.

The baby boom in the 1960s and 1970s has guaranteed China an abundant labor force, as able-bodied working people have long taken up 65% of its population. During the 11th Five-Year Plan Period (2006 - 2010), more than 20 million young people will enter the labor market, while some 4 million laid-off workers also need jobs.

 

If China can maintain its rapid economic growth of 8% or 9% every year, it will be able to provide 8 or 9 million new job vacancies. Even added to the posts released by retirees, there will only be some 12 million jobs available every year, which is still far from enough.

 

==================================================

II型糖尿病有突破口 (俞陶然)

 

上海科研人员找到了联系II型糖尿病和心血管疾病的新“突破口”。中科院上海生科院营养所陈雁课题组韩瑞军博士等人经过3年研究后发现:人体内的载脂蛋白apoA-I与糖尿病有密切关系,这一蛋白极有可能成为同时改善心血管疾病和II型糖尿病的药物靶点。该成果近日发表在国际糖尿病杂志《糖尿病学》(Diabetologia)上。

 

  以往研究表明,人体中高密度脂蛋白的含量与心血管疾病密切相关,而高密度脂蛋白的主要成分是载脂蛋白apoA-I;在II型糖尿病病人中,高密度脂蛋白和apoA-I都有所降低,但它们与糖尿病的关系尚不清楚。营养所的最新研究结果则探明了这个关系,揭示出apoA-I是通过激活AMPK信号通路,进而激活磷酸化乙酰辅酶羧化酶,提高葡萄糖在肌肉细胞中的吸收,改善体内的血糖平衡,从而对II型糖尿病起到保护作用。

 

  动物实验显示,小鼠一旦没有了载脂蛋白apoA-I,它的脂肪含量就会显著增加,并伴随高血糖、高胰岛素症及葡萄糖耐受,出现II型糖尿病的早期病症。“因此,这些研究提示我们,如果能开发出提高人体内载脂蛋白apoA-I浓度的药物,就有可能发挥既防治心血管疾病、又缓解II型糖尿病的作用。”陈雁研究员说。

 

====================================================

美科学家从植物中提取胰岛素 可有效治疗糖尿病 (高原)

美国研究人员最近在动物实验中发现,从转基因植物中提取的胰岛素可以有效地治疗糖尿病。 美国中佛罗里达大学研究人员在研究中先对烟草进行胰岛素基因改造,然后从烟草中提取胰岛素制成胶囊,让患有糖尿病的实验鼠服用。结果显示,8个星期后,这些实验鼠的血和尿中的含糖量都恢复了正常,它们体内的胰腺贝塔细胞也能正常分泌足够的胰岛素。

 

负责这项研究的亨利•丹尼尔表示,植物胰岛素胶囊今后有望成为治疗Ⅰ型糖尿病的一个重要手段,它既可用于糖尿病症状出现前,也可用于糖尿病后期。Ⅰ型糖尿病又称胰岛素依赖型糖尿病,通常是由于人体免疫系统失调,造成胰腺贝塔细胞受损,不能正常分泌甚至停止分泌胰岛素而导致的。目前治疗Ⅰ型糖尿病主要采用胰岛素注射而非服用胶囊的方法。

上述研究成果刊登在新一期美国《植物生物技术》杂志上。

 

===================================================

Chinese rural youths face marital difficulties

Nowadays, more and more rural youths in China have chosen to work in cities as migrant workers. Life in the cities has brought a great shock to the traditional view on marriage. Besides, the problem of husbands and wives living apart in two different places has also caused many troubles. Thus many of them have started to think about their marriage over again.

 

Take a small city in north China as an example, where 50% of divorce cases involve rural couples (most of them being migrant workers), averaging 2,500 every year. Most migrant workers return to their hometowns only on the Spring-Festival holidays, and that is the only time for them to think about love affairs: dating and marriage. Many of them get married in a rush, and then leave their spouses to work in the cities. The next time they can see each other is probably the next Spring Festival.

 

Many young girls in rural areas are no longer content with the life there. Instead, they wish to start careers of their own in cities. In fact, quite a large number of them got married with men from cities. With great gender imbalance in rural areas, young men there find it even more difficult to find wives. Local governments should take immediate action to solve the marriage problem in rural areas, before it starts to affect social stability.

 

=======================================================

 

统计表明有关美国男孩竞争力下降论断似乎有些夸张  (王兴栋)

 

近来,在美国有不少图书和文章都宣称我们已经进入到一个男孩子相对贬值的时代,男孩子的竞争力似乎已被女孩子超越。平时,人们经常也能看到有关女孩子在学校表现优异的新闻和统计数据。在中国,高考状元中也有不少女生。哈佛大学心理学家威廉•波拉克在其著作《真正的男孩子》中甚至断言现代社会的男孩子往往比较胆怯而且自闭,在成就以及自信方面都要比女孩子落后不少。不过,有的学者对此表示怀疑,而最新的统计也表明有关男孩子竞争力下降的论断似乎有些夸张。

 

  男孩子表现要比女孩子糟糕

 

  女孩子在学习方面的确要比男孩子好一些,她们的成绩不错,这一点在美国似乎很少有人会去否认。可以看看相关的统计数据,在今天的美国,参加学术水平测验考试(这是高中生申请上大学时要参加的一项考试)的女生要比男生多,申请上大学的女生也更多,而且大学录取的女生要比男生高出两成五。另外更多的女生在进入大学后会表现出更高的学习热情,而且取得大学学位的女生也多过男生。在高中阶段,男生的退学率要比女生高,而女生阅读的东西则普遍要比男生多。在犯罪率方面美国监狱的男性少年犯显然要高过女性。在男生的各项指标低于女生的同时,十分搞笑的是男孩子精子的数量也在下降。

 

  由美国政府的多个部门联合编撰的《美国的青少年:2007年主要指标》综合了过去20年中收集到的统计数据,根据这份报告,美国男孩子的表现的确不尽人意,在学习成绩、滥用药品以及进行犯罪活动和性行为方面,男孩子行为指标相当糟糕。特别是在上个世纪八、九十年代,男孩子的表现几乎糟糕透顶,进入21世纪之后虽然有所改善,但相比于女孩子还是差不少。美国企业研究所的研究员克里斯蒂娜•索默斯总结道,“在这个社会的每一个层面男孩子都落在了女孩子的后面。”

 

  现代教育体制不适合男孩子

 

  男孩子在学习成绩上的表现为什么会比女孩子差一些?对于这样的问题,社会学家有自己的解释,根本原因在于今天的学校体系更适合于女孩子,而对男孩子则不是很适合。当今社会体系中的学校、家庭以及大众文化都不利于男孩子,这让他们拥有无尽的烦恼。比如,现在的学校体系压制了男孩子的能力,即使是在最低年级,以考试为导向的应试教育让学生将精力集中在常规性的学习上,如阅读、写作以及做其它功课,这些比较安静的能力训练比较适合于女孩子的性格。与此同时,学校削减了科学、试验、体育课程以及假期课外活动的内容,而这种偏重于体验式的教学方式则非常适合男孩子。因此按照现在的教育体制,毫无疑问男孩子从整体上讲很难竞争得过女孩子,正因为难以取得成绩,男孩子也会逐渐讨厌上学,这样就会形成一个恶性循环。

 

  从技术层面上讲,一些男性占主导地位的行业在大学里无相应课程也是男生落后于女生的一个原因。比如说很多文科院校招收到的男生相当少,而女性比较适合文科培训以及文科培训出来后所从事的职业,如图书管理员以及秘书,绝大部分是女性。相比之下,一些男性占优势的行业如消防员、木匠等在大学里并没有相应的课程培训。通俗地讲,一些文秘工作或许也不用上大学就能胜任,但目前的高等教育体系却提供相关课程,而有关消防方面的课程在大学里却没有,这是导致男生上大学的人数少于女生的一个原因。

 

  纵向比较男孩子也在进步

 

  尽管如此,有些学者并不认为男孩子确实处于危机之中,萨拉•米德就是其中之一,她是华盛顿一家智库的高级政策分析师,该智库得到了盖茨基金会的支持。由于现在很多著作和文章都称男孩子如何如何失败,受此影响,米德决心看看这些观点是不是真的经得起考验,米德把研究目标集中在学习表现上,经过研究她得出的结论是除了有一些例外之外,美国的男孩子尽管表现未必比女孩子好,但如果进行纵向比较,他们的成绩比起他们的父辈还是提高了不少,特别是来自于中高收入、白人家庭的男孩子。因此米德认为最大的问题并不在于性别差异,而在于是否出身于少数族群以及是否为弱势群体。

 

  统计数据同样说明了这一点,2005年的青少年犯罪率比1993年的高峰期要下降大约2/3,司法部门的数据也显示现在在监狱里的青少年犯人要比历史高峰期下降大约一半,高中生使用违禁药品的人数比起1980年也下降了一半。而且现在的青少年已经扭转了他们前一代受到困扰最严重的问题:女孩少年怀孕。根据新的报告,2005年时不到一半的高中男孩子和女孩子有过性行为,对于男孩子来说这比1990年代早期的水平下降了大约10个百分点。而且有性行为的男孩子也要比以前更加负责,10人当中有7人会用安全套,1993年的时候只有半数人会用安全套。作为其结果,未成年少女怀孕和堕胎的比率处于历史最低水平。

 

  父母陪伴有助于孩子进步

 

  因此,总体而言,男生的表现要弱过女生,但他们也在进步。男孩子取得进步的原因何在?研究表明主要原因是当今的社会条件更好了,另外就是父母用来陪伴孩子的时间更多了。

 

  密歇根大学的社会学家对家庭中父亲这一角色自1970年代以来陪在孩子身边的时间进行过跟踪研究,发现男人用于陪孩子的时间增长很多。另外一份有关美国马里兰大学研究人员进行的研究也证明了这一点,从1960年代开始,马里兰大学的研究人员就让受调查的父母将每天的活动写成日记,他们发现在1965年的时候以孩子为中心的各种活动每周大约只有13个小时,而且大部分是由母亲来完成;到了1985年这个时间下降到了11小时,原因是母亲也要上班工作;而再到2005年的时候研究人员发现父母花在子女身上的时间达到了20个小时,而且父亲花在孩子身上的时间和母亲差不多。父母多花时间陪伴让孩子受益,男孩子当然也不例外。

 

  男生需要体验式教育

 

  美国的弗里德里克•道格拉斯学院以教育黑人男性学生而著名,这个群体本来是非常难教育的,而且表现也属最差,不过这个群体取得的进步也是最快的。这是一个初中和高中混合在一起的学校,11年前该校的学生有8成是女性,当时来了一位新的校长霍奇,他准备为学校多招收男生。今天,整个学校的1450名学生几乎全部来自于家庭贫困和少数族群,一半是男性,而且退学率几乎为零,高年级的毕业生几乎人人都被大学录取。

 

  这所学校成功的秘密就是在男孩子陷入麻烦之前就与他们进行接触,利用学校的各种运动设施来吸引年轻人,一旦吸引了他们的注意力,然后就向他们展示各种可能性,而且这些可能性都是他们能够实现的。年轻人都希望获得认可,霍奇说,“你要让他们知道他们是重要的,他们能够获得成功,我们从来都不会去说如果你上大学会怎样怎样,而是会说当你进入了大学会怎样。”

 

该学院的学生有着严格的衣着要求,纪律也十分严明,他们中有很多人实际上住在学校,甚至周末的时候也在学校里,家庭作业也不少,如果学习落后就要求参加一些辅导,另外还会参加很多体育活动和课外活动,从篮球到芭蕾舞不等。除了这些规定动作之外,学校也意识到男孩子需要空间来按照自己的方式进行学习,“男孩子的不同之处就在于他们需要进行不同的体验,他们会去寻找适合自己的东西,那么为什么不好好利用这一点呢?”霍奇说。该校的成功表明只要有合适的教育方法男孩子也不会差。

 

====================================================

让学生在未来占据先机  英名校三岁学童必修汉语

 

英国南部布莱顿的一所私校将汉语列为三岁学童的必修课,成为英国首创。布莱顿学校(Brighton College)去年已经要求该校中学生必修汉语,开英国中学汉语必修课之先例。校长理查德•凯恩斯(Richard Cairns)说:“我们做出这个决定是为了保证布莱顿学校毕业的学生能为21世纪做好准备。” 自己也在学习汉语的凯恩斯说,学习汉语从年龄最小的孩子入手是明智的做法,“汉字不同声调出现的不同意思似乎并没有让孩子们觉得奇怪”。

 

凯恩斯希望学生在21世纪占据先机 凯恩斯说,到2022年该校三岁学生毕业之时,中国势必会成为世界第二大经济强国,了解中国的语言、文化和政治会让孩子们更愿意接触不同的文化,较少地以英国为本位。他说,哪怕学生们毕业时只掌握了1000个汉字,也比大多数英国学生多这1000个汉字,这会为他们打开机遇之门。2月初,英国教育大臣艾伦•约翰逊 (Alan Johnson) 宣布英国中学可以放弃法语和德语,改教普通话和乌尔都等“世界语言”。该校通过英国文化教育处从中国引进汉语教学老师,已开始进行实验课程教育。

 

================================================================

Shanghai Jiao-Tong University recruits SOH president worldwide

Shanghai Jiaotong University recently announced that it would recruit the president of its School of Humanities (SOH) from all around the world, to enhance the development of both the school and the study of humanities. The future president of the school should have a doctorate degree and must be an experienced professor who can take charge of the research, teaching and administration of the School of Humanities, and make the school one of the most important research centers in this field in China. Besides, the School of Humanities is also responsible for teaching students political sciences. The current plan of the school is to make the school one of the most advanced humanities research platforms in the world.

 

====================================================

不必戴着道德眼镜看“四成状元选择出国” (曹林)

 

 1977年至1998年全国各省份高考状元当中,考研和出国成为大学毕业后的首选,其中约有40%选择出国留学深造或定居海外。近日出炉的《中国高考状元职业状况调查报告》披露了这条信息。课题组负责人蔡言厚教授说:国家应该想办法把他们留下来,而不是一味培养,以后任由其出国。其实不仅蔡教授以道德的眼光审视“四成状元选择出国”,许多公众也是这样看的。几年前,一篇题为《北大清华最优秀毕业生哪去了》的雄文曾引起舆论爆炸性的讨论。在他们看来,一个祖国培养出的精英和尖子,就该有为祖国效力的意识,选择出国且不归来就是不爱国、不道德的表现。

 

与这种思维对应的是,某某学成后“拒绝高薪毅然归国”曾是一种带着强烈爱国光环和道德色彩的事件,组织大加赞赏媒体大力宣扬——在今天这个开放的全球化时代,有必要对高考状元和其他精英出国的选择去道德化,不能动辄与爱不爱国挂钩,而应将其视为一个人基于私人利益考量的理性选择。

 

这是一个不再以追求私益为耻的伟大时代,国家利益、集体利益、公共利益不再压得人喘不过气来,只要你不损害别人的利益,只要你不违法,你可以正大光明坦荡自豪地去追求最大化的私益。在教育和各种公共品都充分市场化后,读书考大学得自己付出成本,买文具和复习资料得自己花钱,一个从小到大花自己的钱考进名校读成人才的人,有着充分的理由根据“利益最大化”的原则去选择自己的未来,凭什么不能选择出国,凭什么不能在国外找一份能赚更多钱、更有发展前途的工作?

 

有人说到人才外流不利于国家创新和民族发展,能不能留住人才,这应是国家“爱不爱人才”的问题而不是人才“爱不爱国”的问题,全球化浪潮中人才流动已日益全球化,一个能使人才充分发挥自己才智的国家自然能留住自己的并引来别国的人才。有人说人才外流是盲目崇洋的结果,要明白这样一个道理,每个人是自身利益最好的评判者,盲不盲目要靠一个人在市场去学习,而不是外人的道德说教。实际上,随着中国市场的发展和制度的改善,国家给个人提供了更好的发展机会,不仅家长在“送不送孩子出国”上越来越理性,海归越来越多,许多外国人才也选择来中国创业和镀金。

 

从另一个角度看,无论在何处,每个公民得到最好的发展那是一个国家最大的利益和最大的荣耀,国家不能超越国民利益而独立存在。国家应为自己的选择出国的国民有更自由、更好的发展和自我实现而感到荣耀,而不应拿爱不爱国、道不道德去苛求追求最大化私人利益的国民。

 

===============================================

十万日本人在华任职

        目前在华工作的外国技术人员和专家,一年内累计约34万人,其中10万人来自日本,他们中有不少便是退休专家。其原因有二:一是为实现人生的“第二次价值”。许多前去咨询的日本退休专家并不关注待遇如何,他们只是想找到一份适合自己的工作。

第二个原因是日本老龄化日趋严重。但日本退休专家应聘到中国工作在日本还是引起少数人担忧。日本《读卖新闻》报道说:“在中国,经常出现强迫外国技术人员教授专利技术的事件。”有的日本人则喊出:中国人开始挖日本人才。而中国国内则有人担心,大量聘请日本退休专家,会对大陆就业造成冲击。但中国社科院专家蔡昉对此予以驳斥。中国在经济发展过程中某些层面的人才,如高级技术人才存在缺失现象,日本退休专家正好给予补充。由于是退休专家,并不需支付其全额报酬,真正是“物美价廉”。

 

====================================================

China has 18,000 military schools for juveniles

 “Let's forget our spoiled life at home and become more strong-minded. The comfortable life is left behind in school and we start our military life with new dreams and pursuits. ” This is an army song composed for children. With it, thousands of kids in China attend military schools during the summer vacation and for many kids, the army life has become an unforgettable experience for them ever since, the PLA Daily reported.

 

During the 1980s, amid the national defense education boom occurring throughout China, the country's first military school for kids was established in Shangqiu city, Henan. When the school was established, Zhang Aiping, the then Minister of National Defense, honored the school by writing the name for it. Supported by the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of Education and the National Children's Work Coordination Committee, many kids military schools sprang up in China since 1989. The military schools thus became an important place for children to receive education in patriotism and to improve children's general quality. At present, China has 18,000 kids military schools and every year, about 30 million children receive national defense education in these schools.

 

Establishment of the kids military schools have brought fruitful results. Many children become physically stronger. Also, many children's psychological quality and their ideological standards have been raised. Children born in single-child families become stronger and braver. They are imbued with a sense of honor and progressiveness. They are immersed in the ethics of team spirit. Most importantly, by receiving training in these military schools, children have established a basic concept of national defense.

 

===================================================

专家提醒:男性常翘“二郎腿”可影响生殖健康 (生命时报 8/9/07

  很多人坐在椅子上,会习惯性地跷二郎腿,觉得这样比较舒服。一些职业女性还把跷二郎腿当作一种优雅的姿势。但专家提醒,跷二郎腿可能引发不少病。为此,美国还专门发起一项运动,要求妇女“停止交叉双腿一天”。

疾病一:可能引发腿部静脉曲张或血栓塞。北京医院心内科副主任刘德平在接受《生命时报》记者采访时说,跷二郎腿时,被垫压的膝盖受到压迫,容易影响下肢血液循环。两腿长时间保持一个姿势不动,容易麻木,如果血液循环再受阻,很可能造成腿部静脉曲张或血栓塞。“特别是患高血压、糖尿病、心脏病的老人,长时间跷二郎腿会使病情加重。”刘德平建议,感到两腿肌肉麻木或酸痛时,应立即将其放平,用双手反复揉搓或拍打,以缓解疲劳,尽快恢复血液通畅。

 

疾病二:影响男性生殖健康。“养成跷二郎腿的习惯,对生殖健康很不利。”北京协和医院泌尿外科主任医师李宏军说。跷二郎腿时,两腿通常会夹得过紧,使大腿内侧及生殖器周围温度升高。对男性来说,这种高温会损伤精子,长期如此,可能影响生育。为此,李宏军建议,跷二郎腿最好别超过10分钟,两腿切忌交叉过紧,如果感觉大腿内侧有汗渍渗出,最好在通风处走一会儿,以尽快散热。“特别是坐公车时,如果遇到急刹车,交叉的两腿来不及放平,容易导致骨关节肌肉受损脱臼。”

 

疾病三:导致脊椎变形,引起下背疼。北京医院骨科医生高新生说,人体正常脊椎从侧面看应呈“S”形,而跷二郎腿时容易弯腰驼背,久而久之,脊椎便形成“C”字形,造成腰椎与胸椎压力分布不均。长此以往,还会压迫到脊神经,引起下背疼痛。

 

  疾病四:出现骨骼病变或肌肉劳损。跷二郎腿时,骨盆和髋关节由于长期受压,容易酸疼,时间长了可能出现骨骼病变或肌肉劳损。如果感到腰酸背疼,可适当做两分钟伸展或扩胸运动,左右转动颈椎,或靠在椅子上休息一会儿。此外,专家还建议,长期坐着的人,最好保持正确坐姿,少把腿跷起来。如果一时改不过来,跷腿的时间也不要过长,几分钟便应变换一种坐姿,或一小时后,站起来活动一下筋骨。

 

====================================================

哈佛美女教授挑战爱因斯坦 地球存在第五度空间 (旺旺  新晨8/9)

 

根据爱因斯坦广义相对论,人类生存的三维空间加上时间轴即构成所谓四维空间。然而,美国哈佛大学理论物理学家、曾经荣登《时尚》杂志的美女教授丽莎•蓝道尔却大胆假设,地球上可能还存在着“第五度空间”。由于这一假说与爱因斯坦广义相对论中关于“四维空间”的理论相悖,这一革命性的理论一经提出,国际物理学界为之震惊。

 

日前,丽莎•蓝道尔应邀前往日本东京大学讲演,会上她大胆提出一项革命性的假说,地球上可能存在“第五度空间”。丽莎表示:“我认为(地球上)存在第五度空间等其他的维度。如果这个假设正确,那么其他空间(第五度空间)其实离我们并不遥远,甚至可说近在咫尺。只是它们隐藏得很好,所以我们看不到而已。”如果丽莎运气好的话,最快在明年,她就可以把“第五度空间”从假设变成全新的理论。这是因为,欧洲原子核研究中心目前正在瑞士和法国的边境地下100多米深处,兴建一台世界规模最大的大型粒子对撞机。一旦正式投入使用,这台神奇的机器便可在几周内解答物理学中一些最深奥的问题,比如宇宙起源与结构,以及其他空间维度等。据悉,该规模空前的实验项目汇聚了全球34个国家的科学家,总耗资高达40亿美元。

 

在东京大学的签名板上,丽莎•蓝道尔博士写下“相信直觉,大胆享受科学”的留言。丽莎希望能用这句话来勉励其他年轻科学家,能够像她一样,从意外之中发现无限可能。

 

  闯入“男人的世界”

  一直以来,深奥晦涩的理论物理学都被国际学术界视作“男人的世界”,然而丽莎•蓝道尔却敢于向这一世俗偏见大胆挑战。

身为哈佛大学理论物理学专业的博士,丽莎多年来潜心研究。她的代表著作《弯曲的旅行:揭开隐藏着的宇宙维度之谜》一书,由于深入浅出地谈论了宇宙的故事,一举入选《纽约时报》2005年“100本最佳畅销书”之列。2007年,丽莎被美国《时代》杂志评选为全球“100名最有影响力人物”之一,被公认为当今全球最权威的额外维度物理学家。

 

===============================================================

70% of Chinese AIDS patients fail to take medical check

 According to China Youth Daily, experts estimate that 70% of AIDS patients in China have never taken medical checks, which means there is still a huge HIV-infected group existing in the society. Many people suggest that the Ministry of Health launch a universal medical check on HIV virus in China, and currently the local government of Hunan Province has launched a medical check among those who work in entertainment places. But some also think such large-scale medical check will make those people uncomfortable and show little respect for their occupation.

 

==============================================================

大陆大学生10大不良生活方式  (陈剑 李征)

  近日,多家大陆大学生论坛转载了一个标题为“十种最短命生活方式”的帖子,跟帖显示,在暑期生活中,有的跟帖学生自测后发现自己竟然十项全中。“十种最短命生活方式”列表,表中罗列了:

“极度缺乏锻炼”、

“有病不求医”、

“缺乏主动体检”、

“不吃早餐”、

“与家人缺少交流”、

“长时间处在空调环境中”、

“常坐不动”、

“不能保证睡眠时间”、

“面对电脑过久”、

“三餐饮食无规律”。

 

在跟帖同学中,不少人都有八九项“达标”,而所有跟帖的同学都至少符合五项以上。有些位同学更坦言自己十项全中。其中,“缺乏体锻”、“长时间处于空调环境”、“面对电脑太久”等项目几乎是人人必中。

  中国食品营养理事会理事周建烈博士分析,“称这些生活方式‘最短命’有些不妥,大学生们不必惶恐。但是不良生活方式确实需要大学生警惕。”他告诫那些“缺乏锻炼”、“长时间孵空调”、“常坐不动”、“久对电脑”的学生,每人每天至少要运动60分钟,即使放假在家也不要疏于体锻。而对于那些“不吃早饭”、“三餐无规律”的学生,他警告说,“打破了三餐定时的生物钟,会干扰新陈代谢,甚至引起内、外分泌紊乱的。”他奉劝这些学生,即使作息打乱,三餐也不能“缺课”。

 

=======================================================================

新动态 - 大陆"捆绑式腐败"大行其道: 领导得大头 职工得小头 (罗天柱)

  什么叫“捆绑式腐败”?一个单位的领导搞腐败,除了自己敛财外,还通过行贿受贿等手法把上级领导和平行的相关单位领导拉入其中,结成“你有我有全都有”的“腐败网”。此其一。其二,披着为部门谋发展、为干部职工谋福利的外衣大搞腐败,其非法利益,主要领导暗中得大头儿,一般领导半明半暗得中头儿,职工群众明着得小头儿。这两种现象都叫做“捆绑式腐败”。

  “捆绑式腐败”为何能大行其道?一个贪官说过这样的话:“杀一个人的是杀人犯,杀1万人、100万人的可能是大英雄。贪几万元的是贪污犯,因为办案人敢查;贪几千万元的可能平安无事,因为办案人不敢查(害怕牵扯太多人特别是牵扯掌握自己政治命运的关键人物)。” 这个贪官的话虽然是鬼话,但却从一个方面回答了“捆绑式腐败”的发生原因。

那么,贪官搞“捆绑式腐败”为什么还要“捆绑群众”呢?恐怕有两个原因:一是披着为部门谋发展、为干部职工谋福利的外衣搞腐败,往往不被看成腐败,因此具有隐蔽性;二是在那些非法利益中,主要领导暗中得大头儿,一般领导半明半暗得中头儿,职工群众明着得小头儿,人人有份儿,内部谁也不会揭发检举,这显然是一道“腐败安全网”。

=======================================================================

China might take tightening policy to handle inflation problem

Chinese government is afflicted by the possible inflation problem. Last Wednesday, the central bank issued a report analyzing the implementation of China's monetary policies during the second quarter of this year. The report reminds governments at all levels to direct their attention to the current price hike and prevent an overall price rise. This is the first time for the central bank to issue a warning about the possible overall inflation. Some economists predict that the central government might take a series of tightening policies during the latter half of the year to control macro economy.

 

The current price hike was initiated by the price rise in foods and it seems the price rise has now spread to other goods as well. The report says that during the first half of the year, CPI growth rate reached 3.2%. “The price rise in foods and eggs has now begun to affect the downstream industries, such as catering and food processing,” the report points out. The central bank's report contradicts the earlier claim by the spokesperson at the National Statistics Bureau, who said that CPI growth was a structural problem and if appropriate measures were taken, it would not cause an overall price rise.

 

According to the central bank, the current price hike is not accidental or temporary occurrence. Rather, it is caused by various factors working together. The rising production costs, the growing demand and some structural problems all contribute to the problem. The price rise in foods, meat and eggs may last for a certain period of time in future. At the same time, there are possibilities for the price of energy resources to go up, labor costs to rise and inflation to expect further strengthening, the report says.

 

Next Monday, China will publicize the CPI figures for July. The figures will become an important basis for the central government to decide what measures to take in the next stage. Despite the fact that CPI figures of June hit 4.4%, a historical high in past 33 months, such figures might continue to rise in July to even exceed 5%. According to Wang Qing, chief economist at Morgan Stanley's China region, CPI figures in July might even touch 5.5%.

 

=========================================================

日本科学家找到防止水在低温下结冰的天然物质(钱铮)

 

日本研究人员已在植物色素中找到一种防止水在低温下结冰的物质,只要将这种物质以0.01%的比例混入水中,水在零下10摄氏度的环境中也不会结冰。共同社报道说,当温度降到零摄氏度以下,水会凝聚微小冰核,有了冰核,水分子可在其表面按一定的规则排列形成冰晶。北海道大学教授藤川清三的研究小组发现,生长于寒冷地区的树木的组织,即使在低温环境下也不会冻结。他们于是提取这些树木的组织成分加以分析,结果发现其中的山奈酚-7-O-葡萄糖甙可阻止冰核生成。

 

研究人员说,这种物质或许可用于移植用脏器的低温保存等领域。目前,移植用脏器一般被浸泡在含生理盐水的液体中保存。液体温度越低,细胞的代谢越慢,脏器保存的时间也越长。但液体温度过低会冻结并伤害细胞,所以实际情况下脏器的长期保存非常困难。而水中只需添加0.01%的山奈酚-7-O-葡萄糖甙,水温下降到零下10摄氏度也不会冻结,脏器的保存时间将可能得到大幅延长。这项研究成果在加拿大卡尔加里国际低温生物学会会议上发表。

 

========================================================

德国科学家发明用体温发电新技术  (china.com.cn金晶8/7)

德国弗朗霍夫集成电路研究所的科学家成功利用身体表面与外界环境的温度差异来发电,为电子设备摆脱传统供电方式提供了可能。 这一项目的负责人彼得·施皮斯介绍,这种方法是通过半导体,利用温差来获取电能。温差发电的基本原理是“泽贝克”效应,即两种不同的金属连接起来构成一个闭合回路时,如果两个连接点的温度不一样,就能产生微小的电压。

 

一般而言,温差越大产生的电压越大。由于人体与周围环境的温差通常有限,因此只能产生200毫伏左右非常低的电压,这无法驱动普通电子设备。德国科学家为解决这一问题发明了一种新方法,使得一些电子设备可以在这种低压情况下运转,但他们并未透露这种新方法的细节。 施皮斯表示,新方法可以用来为一些微型医疗设备供电,比如重病病人身上的传感器等。

 

===================================================

Large amount of hot money flows into China

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) recently warned that a large amount of hot money is flowing into China. In checking the foreign currency flow and foreign exchange settlement in ten coastal cities and provinces in China, SAFE found that large sums of foreign currency had come into China in the form of foreign trade and investment. Information shows that during the first half of this year, over 100 billion US dollars of hot money flowed into China, a situation that has aroused great concern of the government, the International Finance News reported.

 

During the first quarter of this year, Chinese foreign exchange reserves increased substantially. During the first three months of the year, Chinese foreign exchange reserves increased by 135.7 billion US dollars. At the same time, China's trade surplus reached only 46.4 billion US dollars and FDI (foreign direct investment) reached only 15.9 billion US dollars. The difference between the two figures reached 73.4 billion US dollars, or over half of the newly increased foreign exchange reserves. Information from the China Customs Office and the Ministry of Commerce shows that during the first half of this year, the source location of about 120.9 billion US dollars of foreign exchange couldn't be identified. Analysts say the 120.9 billion US dollars of foreign exchange are the hot money flowing into China.

 

As hot money flows to China at a rapid speed, China is put under more pressure to increase its Renminbi basic money supply, which is further worsening the excessive liquidity problem. In addition, as hot money always is after short-term gains, the scale of hot money will fluctuate largely. This will seriously affect the central bank’s monetary policy. Lastly, the large flow of hot money can usually threaten the financial security of a country. In the financial crisis happening in Mexico in 1994 and the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the abnormal flow of hot money both played an important role.

 

It might be unrealistic to get rid of hot money completely as the problem was caused by excessive liquidity in the international market. In order to solve the problem, the central banks in all countries concerned should work together. At the same time, we should realize that the government's monetary policy to tackle the problem can not take effect overnight. It might take a long time before regulating measures can work, said Mei Xinyu, a researcher at the Foreign Trade and Economics Research Department under the Ministry of Commerce Research Institute.

 

==============================================

美國學校的品德教育走向 (朱易 - 山行文化 8/9

在一場“全球化下的教育改革”的學術研討會會中,一位美國學者對中國教育體制正在仿照美國而憂慮。他認為美國公立教育培養出來的學生,不會讀.不會寫.也不會算。而公立學校也沒有品德教育,這些學生到了職場,還得重新受訓。這位學者的意見不一定對,但有一點是對的,即美國公立學校缺少品德教育是美國教育的一大缺失。

 

華人家長都習慣,美國長大的小孩對來訪者不打招呼,不問好,這在中國是不可思議的,那家的孩子不是“叔叔好,阿姨好”的。許多華人家長對此還習以為常,並教育那些因此而大驚小怪者,“這是美國文化。”不但是參加這次學術研討會的專家們都認為這是美國文化中不好的部分,許多教育專家也認為這是必須在教育中對學生進行的教育項目。

 

一個旨在學校中推展品德教育的組織“品德教育合作組織”,最近評選出十間品德教育的模範學校,其中一間座落在南加州。在這間學校里,品德教育是一項課程,所教導的品德有﹕尊重.公平.負責.信任和價值觀等等。這間學校的學生會對訪問者握手和問候致意,足球隊員尊重他們的對手,而不是象其它的足球隊員對對手惡言相向,高年級的學生會用大標語和早餐來迎接新生,而不是慣常所見的欺負新生。這一切發生在美國的一所高中,讓許多家長們感到驚奇。

 

近年來,越來越多的學校開始增設品德教育課程,全美國至少有數百家學校已經有了品德教育課程。有十四個州(其中包括加州)是明文規定學校必須開設一定程度的品德教育課程。有更多的州也有意跟進,但由于經費不足,目前的進展并不大。

 

布希總統十分注重學校的品德教育,在他的推動下,聯邦政府已經向全美47州的學校系統發放了開設品德教育課程的經費。因此開設品德教育課程的州將會越來越多。越來越多的教育專家和行政當局開設認識到,如果學生不愿意成為一個好公民的話,教育工作就不算成功,而讓一個學生學習成為一個好公民的最佳途徑,就是讓他們上品德教育課,并接受品德方面的訓練。

 

促使教育工作者認真考慮開設品德教育的因素有兩個,一是近年來學校校園暴力事件不斷,二是各大公司的丑聞層出不窮,令人震驚。

 

1999年的科羅拉州的哥倫拜高中的槍擊案是一個觸發因素,教育當局認識到如果學生沒有被教育成能關心和尊重他人的品德,這種暴力事件幾乎是無法阻止的。而2001年後爆發的大公司高層主管的丑聞,更使教育工作者不得不認真思考他們要培養什麼樣的人才。品德教育正是在這種環境之下,被廣泛接受。

 

各州各學區的品德教育并無統一的教材,也無統一的形成,有些是安插進現有的教材當中,有些則有專門的訓練課程。比如在美國歷史的教材中,安排一些道德問題的討論,這些討論題,有難有易,難如“杜魯門總統決定向日本扔原子彈,到底是錯是對?”學生們通過討論這類道德兩難問題,來學習正確的道德價值觀。

 

更正規的課程有類似不同的品德,并要求學生學習各種品德的內容,在實踐中培養這些品德。有些老師還自行擬出實用的訓練課程,不但讓學生認識品德的內涵,還可以在日常生活中操練。

 

這些操練大部分與個人行為有關。比如為他人開門,當傷害到他人時,要說﹕“對不起”,要對父母說“我愛你們”等等。更進一步的還有各種禮貌的教育。比如古典音樂會中的禮儀,接待客人的態度等等。雖然這些品德教育課程看上去僅僅是基本的禮儀教育,但考慮到美國公立教育中長期漠視個人的禮貌教育,以致形成社會視“沒有禮貌”為理所當然的現實,這種變化,其實已經是一種突破了。

 

=================================================================

美房市低迷拖垮經濟? 專家指目前沒有任何衰退跡象 華爾街擔心貸款弊病惡化

 

美國房屋市場陷入10年來最嚴重的衰退,如果情況惡化,並引發連鎖反應,衝擊美國和世界金融市場的每一層面,會不會導致美國經濟崩潰,甚至使美國重陷大蕭條? MSNBC廣播網6日報導,專家表示,光是房市還不足以讓美國經濟崩潰,陷入堪與當年的經濟大蕭條比擬的長期不景氣。

 

首先,房市低迷的直接起因是持續幾年的房市榮景終於結束,而這種榮景本來就無法持久,因為它是靠貸款寬鬆、猖狂投機風氣、欺騙性和掠奪性的貸款所引發。因此,現在房市緊縮有部分只是從已擴展到荒謬程度的虛胖倒退。 房屋建築和銷售長期嚴重低迷,確有可能引發經濟衰退。一些華爾街專家也擔心抵押貸款弊病還會惡化。股市3日出現拋售風潮,主要就是擔心房屋貸款對大銀行和其他投資者造成的虧損,可能比原來想像的嚴重。 也有人擔心貸款商面對風險提高,會提高貸款成本,導致利率上升。這種心態如果太強烈,可能造成貸款緊縮,並影響經濟成長。

 

不過,目前沒有任何跡象顯示美國有經濟衰退之虞,因為全世界許多地區經濟成長更快速,使美國出口產品需求增加。 一些經濟層面確實境況不佳,製造業還在繼續緊縮,房市也很不景氣。不過,美國經濟約有七成靠消費者開支維繫,而消費者對各種產品和服務的需求仍然很強勁。只要民眾還有錢可花,也肯花錢,經濟就不會有問題。 不過,房市低迷對金融活動造成的漣漪,正散布到房屋營建商、貸款商和投資銀行之外,並嚴重衝擊股市,使避險基金災情慘重,並快速拖垮與抵押貸款有關的債務,貸款成本則為之激漲。

 

房市貸款弊病每次傳出壞消息,投資者的恐慌就升高,導致股市全面下跌。道瓊工業平均指數已比最高峰時跌落5.8%,史坦普五百指數銳減7.7%,小股票組成的Russell 2000指數劇跌11.7%,那斯達克綜合指數折損7.7% 投資策略師Chris Johnson說,更令人擔心的是,追蹤1500種股票的史坦普指數的一般股票,價格已比過去52周最高峰時降低21%,史坦普五百指數也低於過去兩百天的平均價格,顯示熊市一觸即發。

 

==============================================================

Most think there is an English learning boom in society

A recent survey shows that 90% of Chinese think there is an English learning boom in society. Nearly half of the respondents to the survey say that English is an essential tool for people living in modern society. The survey was jointly carried out by the China Youth Daily Social Investigation Center, the information center of Sina.com, and Qtick.com.

 

What do people learn English for? When such question is posed to the respondents, 83% of them say learning English can help one find a good job; 65.4% of the respondents say it can help one to pass various exams; and 62% of them say English can help people to get a promotion easily.  73.5% of the respondents to the survey think English is useful in their work. As people around the world carry out much closer communications than ever before, no one will neglect the importance of English learning, they say.

 

In Shanghai, English is the second most important language, only next to Shanghai dialect. It's Okay if you can't write English well but you must be able to communicate in English. English is very important on many occasions. Sometimes when people go out to play or go to a pub, they like to communicate in English. In Shanghai, many foreigners and overseas Chinese often shift between the two languages when they communicate. Such way of speaking also affects those who do not speak English - they think this is fashion.  For many people, English is a magic band - with it, they can do many things they like. In the survey, 27.7% of the respondents think that by mastering English one will “look well-educated”. 12.8% of them even think that English can help them “find a good marriage partner”.

 

====================================================

英国科学家对男性做试验 发现西红柿汤有助壮阳

 

英国科学家发现,令西红柿汤呈现红色的茄红素(Lycopene),或能把男性体内的精子强化成超级精子,由此推断男士只要每日饮一碗西红柿汤,将能大大增强生育能力。研究刊登在《英国泌尿科期刊》。朴茨茅斯大学生化科学部5名泌尿科专家,随机挑选6名平均年龄42岁的精壮男士,要求他们在两周内,每天饮用一罐400克的亨氏西红柿汤,期间收集他们的精液样本,发现精液内,可消除令男性不育的有害化学物自由基的茄红素水平显著增加,升幅介乎7%12%。科学家希望日后可在不育男士身上继续研究,看看西红柿汤会否同样提高他们精液的茄红素浓度。

 

====================================================

英国发现:人收入越高性欲越强

 

英国广播公司网站上月报道,由英国广播公司近期举办的一项以“性的秘密”为主题的大规模性爱调查显示,收入增加会让男女两性的性欲得到提升。不过,在现实生活中,只有男性会将自己的欲望落实到行动上。这项调查以网络问卷的方式,对170个国家的近3万人进行了调查,其中男性14488人,女性14032人。结果显示,收入的增加与男女性欲的增强成正比。

 

为什么金钱能增强男女的性欲呢?专家分析认为,男女的性欲都受到雄性激素———睾酮素的影响,而睾酮素又与人的自信程度有关。收入高,人更具竞争力及自信心,睾酮素自然也就高。负责调查的曼尼教授说,这项调查也正是生物本能的表现。男人能让数量众多的女人怀孕,而女人孕育后代的数量却很有限,所以在自然界中,女人注定要在择偶时精挑细选,找个有钱又有地位的“强势”男人,好让其后代得到更好的照顾。不过,落实在男女身上,最终结果不尽相同。对于男性来说,高收入男士的性生活的确比低收入男人更频繁,性伴侣也较多。他们凭借自己的社会优势,吸引了众多女性的爱慕。而对于高收入的女性来说,她们尽管本身欲望增加了,但是其性生活频率与低收入女性却无显著差别。

 

这样的结果证实了一个传统理论:男人凭财富可以吸引更多的女性,但女性的财富却不能强化她们对男人的吸引力,因为男人对女人最重视的,往往是外表或者品德等其他条件。

 

============================================================

Nuclear emergency platform put into trial operation

The first phase of construction of the national nuclear emergency directing platform has been completed and put into trial operation now. The platform will monitor the operational conditions of all nuclear power plants in China. It will gather the latest information about nuclear radiation and meteorological changes, and it can also receive abnormal signals sent by nuclear power plants, the China Disease Prevention and Control Center said on Tuesday.

 

The platform is built at the site of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. The platform has been linked with the emergency directing centers of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in Zhejiang, the Dayawan (Ling’ao) Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong and the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant in Jiangsu. It also connects the provincial-level nuclear emergency directing centers where these nuclear power plants are located. The platform can thus share information with local emergency centers about the operational conditions of these nuclear plants and the accidents happening in these plants. By gathering this information, the platform can assess the possible dangers of the nuclear radiation accidents and communicate with foreign nuclear institutions. It can also post related nuclear information on some public websites.

 

The platform can help the State Council, related provinces and construction institutions to share information related with different nuclear power plants. The information includes the emergency handling measures, the geographical features, equipment and technical personnel conditions at different nuclear plants. It can provide real-time dynamic display of the developmental process of nuclear accidents, assess the consequence of the accidents and propose emergency handling measure automatically. It can also automatically print out related reports to help engineers to make decisions.  

 

======================================================

台高考发榜 平均一科不到三分就可念大学

台湾《联合报》报道,台湾大考(即高考)近日发榜,今年录取率不但飙到近九成六三新高,只有三千多人落榜,还空出五百多缺额,平均一科不到三分就有学校念,闭眼猜答案都可能上榜。 今年岛内大考共录取八万六千多人,稻江科技暨管理学院信息科学系采计四科成绩,最低录取分数才十八点四七分,其中还有三科加权,以此推估原始分数,平均一科只要二点八分就可录取,创最低纪录;去年最低也要一科平均十五分才能录取。

有大学校长预测,每年出生人数已由三十万降到二十万人,未来将有三分之一大学面临倒闭危机。大学招联会执秘蒋丙煌说,少数校系分数太难看,招联会明年将研订最低录取门坎,可能是指考单科设限;也可能设学测门坎,但为避免冲击太大,门坎不可能订太严。台湾教育主管部门指出,今年含技职校院在内的大一生约三十一万人,核定招生名额已二十七万人,明年大考录取率可能百分之百。

 

=======================================================

中国每十秒有1人死于心血管病 启动健康激励计划  (曾利明)

中国平均每十秒钟就有一人死于心血管疾病,每年约为三百万人;每年新发心肌梗死和偏瘫患者分别达到五十万和二百万人。心血管病已成为中国城乡人群第一位死亡原因, 占死亡原因的近百分之四十。为此,国家卫生部疾病预防控制局、卫生部新闻办公室、中国记者协会新闻发展中心在北京联合启动“中国健康知识传播激励计划(血脂异常•二00)”系列活动。提醒公众预防血脂异常这一冠心病、心梗和脑卒中等心脑血管病的重要危险因素。

 

活动内容包括:动员媒体和医务工作者积极向大众传播《防治血脂异常与心肌梗死和脑血栓知识要点》;为媒体提供《防治血脂异常与心肌梗死和脑血栓媒体实用手册》;开展“防治血脂异常知识传播好作品评选”;征集出版《血脂异常——百名患者故事》;在北京、上海、广州、杭州等地召开血脂异常知识专家研讨会等。

 

调查显示:中国血脂异常患病人数已高达一点六亿,三十五岁以上人群中有二千五百万人同时患有高血压和高脂血症。由于血脂异常没有明显的症状,一旦发病却可能造成伤残或死亡的后果,所以有“隐形杀手”和冠心病“元凶”之称。专家指出,中国居民普遍未意识到血脂异常的危害性,对血脂异常的重视度远远不够,大量患有血脂异常的人未能得到及时发现,多数确诊患者的血脂控制不理想。“中国健康知识传播激励计划”是政府在社会各界支持下搭建的全民健康教育平台,每年选定一个严重威胁大众健康的慢性病为主题,广泛开展健康知识传播活动。今年的“中国健康知识传播激励计划得到了美国辉瑞制药有限公司的支持。 

 

 ======================================================

China's foreign trade nears $1.2 trln (Xinhua 8/11)

 

The Chinese mainland's foreign trade reached 1.17 trillion U.S. dollars, up 24.4 percent, in the first seven months of 2007, according to customs sources. The European Union remained its largest partner with a trade volume of 190.1 billion dollars, a growth of 28.5 percent over the same period of last year, followed by the United States with 167 billion dollars, up 17.5 percent, and Japan with 130 billion dollars, up 15.2 percent. Hong Kong was the mainland's fifth partner, with nearly 106 billion dollars, up 23.2 percent, only after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with 110 billion dollars, up 27.5 percent.

 

The total trade volume included 654.4 billion U.S. dollars in export, up 28.6 percent, and 517.6 billion U.S. dollars in import, up 19.5 percent. The trade surplus was 136.8 billion U.S. dollars, or 77 percent of the figure for the whole of last year. Customs sources said the country saw a robust growth of 28.4 percent in machinery and electrical products exports in the seven months, reaching 369 billion dollars. Export value of new- and high-tech products amounted to 180.8 billion dollars, up 24.7 percent.

 

=======================================================

美汉语热受追捧 预计到2010年将有一亿人学汉语

近期的美国《新闻周刊》报道,在过去的一年里,纽约市有146414岁的孩子加入了汉语学习班。美国教育部今年宣布,希望在2010年前让5%的中小学和大学生学习汉语。 随着中国的迅速崛起和世界各地孔子学院的大力发展,预计到2010年,将有1亿人把汉语当作外语来学习。各国都在加大对汉语教学的力度,最近两名美国参议员提议,在今后5年里为汉语教学项目投入13亿美元的教学经费。

 

  汉语热在受到追捧的同时,也遭到个别学习者的抱怨。最主要的一条是汉语太难学,常用汉字数量大约有2500多个,汉语发音也颇为复杂。一些人说,汉语热会导致俄语、日语等其他重要语言被忽视。但这些困难并不会影响大部分学生的汉语学习热情。对他们而言,学习汉语意味着能与中国更好地进行贸易往来,同时汉语也代表着一种新的思维方式。

 

=====================================================

习近平: 领导干部要“过好五关”

  要切实过好思想关,仔细算好“利益账”,坚持正确的利益原则;仔细算好“法纪账”,坚持法纪原则;仔细算好“良心账”,坚持良知原则。只有把“三笔账”一笔一笔地算清楚算明白,才能真正做到讲官德,有原则;才能真正做到对党和人民负责,对自己负责。

 

  要切实过好权力关,牢固树立正确的权力观,坚持为民用权、有限用权、公正用权、依法用权,自觉把手中的权力置于组织和人民群众的监督之下。

 

  要切实过好社会关,慎重对待社会交往、慎重对待自己的言行举止,净化自己的“社交圈”,坚守原则和底线。

 

  要切实过好亲属关,既要管好自己,以良好作风言传身教,又要对亲属和身边工作人员严格要求、严格监督。

 

要切实过好生活关,生活正派、情趣健康,讲操守,重品行,切实做到慎独、慎欲、慎微,真正做到“心不动于微利之诱,目不眩于五色之惑”,始终保持高尚的气节和情操。

 

===================================================

Survey: Rural kids keener on studies

According to a survey conducted by three junior high school students in Yunan Province, rural kids are keener on studies than urban kids. They need less encouragement from parents or teachers, instead they are very good at encouraging themselves, and they are easily impressed by the stories of those who make the grade through hard work.

Liu, Bai and Shi, are all from the Yunnan University Second High School. They initiated the survey to find out whether rural kids as students perform better than urban kids. The survey was conducted in a Songyang Town High School, involving 30 questions. The survey shows that though 70% of the respondents have made plans for their future, only 44% of the excellent rural students are carrying out their plans. Besides, rural students are more pragmatic, particularly those with mediocre academic performance. Most students are interested in entertainment news. Next to entertainment news, rural students are also interested in news about economy and environment, while urban students are more interested in politics.

 

==================================================

移民局解答按照7月份职业移民排期报I-485绿卡申请的相关问题之三(李相如)

 

移民局于724日发布通知, 针对按照美国国务院7月份107号移民排期公报, 优先排期已到的职业移民申请者报送I-485申请绿卡申请过程中遇到的相关问题作了解答。该局又于今日(88)又对有关问题做了进一步的解答 以下是相关问题解答之三的英文全文。

 

U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRAITN SERVICES

 

August 8, 2007

Frequently Asked Questions - #3

Employment-Based Adjustment Applications Filed by Aliens Whose Priority
Dates are Current under Department of State July Visa Bulletin No. 107

Q33: When filing an EB I-485 using the old fee, what version of the I-485 form do we use?  
A33: The current I-485 form version dated “7/30/07 Y” should be used. The form can be found at

Q34: To ensure that the correct fee is submitted, may an applicant submit both a check for the old fee and a second check for the new fee?
A34:
  USCIS requires that all applications and petitions be submitted with the required filing fee or a waiver, if applicable. USCIS urges the public to exercise caution in submitting additional checks in incorrect amounts: extraneous checks may slow down the intake process and may result in an erroneous rejection of an application (as in the case where the check in the correct amount is missed) or in the inadvertent cashing of such checks, since filing fees are normally non-refundable. For additional information, the public is referred to the fee requirements announced in the Federal Register on August 1, 2007 (Temporary Adjustment of the Immigration and Naturalization Benefit Application and Petition Fee Schedule for Certain Adjustment of Status, FR at 41888). This regulation amends the new Fee Rule, and requires that aliens who file an employment-based Form I–485 and any related Forms I–765 and I–131, pursuant to Visa Bulletin No. 107, through August 17, 2007, must include the filing fees in effect prior to July 30, 2007. The new fee schedule becomes effective on July 30, 2007, for all other immigration and naturalization applications and petitions and on August 18, 2007, for Forms I–485 and all subsequent or ‘‘renewal’’ applications for advance parole and employment authorization based on pending Forms I–485 filed pursuant to Visa Bulletin No. 107.  

Q35: Will previous USCIS policy still apply in those instances where the original approved labor certification cannot be included in support of an I-140 petition, such as when the original has been lost or previously filed with USCIS, or when a duplicate approval must be requested?
A35:
Yes. While an original labor certification must be submitted in support of certain I-140 petitions, USCIS will continue to accept duplicates of previously filed Labor certificates and, as in the instances stated above, in cases where an original labor certificate has been properly filed with USCIS. 

Q36: Will USCIS accept Schedule A concurrently filed I-140 petitions and adjustment of status applications that are filed on or after August 1, 2007? 
A36:
  As previously stated, USCIS will accept properly filed Forms I-140 filed on behalf of aliens with a priority date on or after August 1, 2007; however, pursuant to August Visa Bulletin No. 108, USCIS will reject any concurrently filed adjustment of status applications filed by aliens with a priority date on or after August 1, 2007.  

Q37: Will the new I-765 filing instructions apply to Forms I-765 filed based on employment-based adjustment of status applications filed pursuant to the July Visa Bulletin No. 107, if filed between July 30, 2007 – August 17, 2007?  
A37:
  No. The fee of $180 for Forms I-765 and the fee of $170 for Form I-131 will remain in effect for those aliens eligible to file an employment-based adjustment of status application pursuant to July Visa Bulletin No. 107 until August 17, 2007.

Q38: Where should an employment-based adjustment of status application be filed if the underlying I-140 petition remains pending with USCIS?
A38:
   Forms I-485 may be filed at either the Nebraska Service Center or the Texas Service Center in accordance with the Direct Filing Update issued June 21, 2007, regardless of where the pending I-140 was filed. Applicants should submit a copy of the I-140 receipt notice or, if the applicant does not have a receipt notice, include a brightly colored sheet of paper on top of the filing with the following notice and information:

TO THE MAILROOM: The enclosed I-485 Adjustment Application(s) should be matched with a pending I-140 Immigrant Petition for which no Receipt Notice has been received. The Immigrant Petition [type, e.g., I-140] was delivered to [Service Center] on [provide date of filing and tracking number]; Petitioner's name; Beneficiary's name; Beneficiary's date of birth; Beneficiary's country of birth.

 

李相如律师

Mark X. Li, Esq.

Email: markxruli@gmail.com, Web: www.lirulaw.com

 

========================================================

英美澳等国留学费用涨啦!英国明年上涨5%10% (浙江理财)

 

准备明年出国留学的汪然,最近忙着准备申请资料,忙中还研究一下汇率变化、物价水平,还有学校的费用调整。因为对于工薪家庭来说,哪怕是一点点调整,都很重要。眼下,不少人正在为明年的出国深造计划做准备,其中很重要的一项准备就是筹集学费,申请者对留学费用甚是在意,对涨幅尤为敏感。随着通货膨胀率、汇率的变化,国外一些院校会根据申请人数的多少、专业的冷热等来调整学费,一些热选国家明年留学费用有了新变化。

 

澳大利亚:担保金涨了

澳洲的留学费用处于主流留学国家的中等水平,但随着这两年澳币升值,澳洲大学学费上涨等因素,留学澳洲的费用要比想象中高些。

办理留学最重要的环节就是准备充足而符合要求的担保金。澳大利亚留学担保金是根据澳大利亚目前的学费和生活费水平而计算的,用来判断留学生是否有足够的经济能力在澳大利亚完成学业。充足的担保金是赴澳大利亚留学的必备条件之一, 也是签证官关注的重点。

“担保金今年调高了一些。”据新通国际留学中心相关人士介绍,去年,本科保证金为60万元人民币,今年提高到65万元以上,因为澳元对人民币汇率现升到16.47,原来在16.2左右,担保金也水涨船高。除汇率影响外,院校还会根据课程、专业的冷热程度来调控学费。

不过,申请的热情并未因此受影响。据新通介绍,今年截至目前申请的浙江学生有1000多人,同比增长40%以上,其中澳大利亚占相当比重。

 

美国:汇率降低,生活费上涨

从去年年底开始,美国放宽学生签证,申请进入美国攻读本科、研究生的留学生数量不断增加。这意味着竞争也会激烈些。美国本科学费差距很大,一年费用从2~5万美元。受人民币升值影响,留学费用相对下降。总的来说,费用有节省,但并不多。在美国,不同的地理位置,不同学校,学费差距很大。以2.5万美元计,按昨天的17.55汇率算,比以往便宜1万多元人民币。另外还有物价上涨等因素,近年来美国生活支出也在提高,纽约、旧金山等城市的费用相对高些。并且,这两项费用每年都在以一定比例增长,最近一次涨幅约在5%10%左右,有一些学校,例如加州大学的学费涨幅达15%。汇率和费用一降一升因素相抵消,实际上整体费用变化也不大。另外就专业而言,商科、传媒、建筑等都是美国的优势专业,尤其是美国的MBA无需工作经验,成为浙江很多大学应届生的首选,该专业学费也小幅上扬。

 

英国:持续上涨,年均5%~10%

英国学费上涨是这几年的趋势,明年仍会上涨5%10%,最高涨幅约为1000英镑。赴英留学的本科学费开销在80~100万元人民币(3),研究生费用为30万元(1)。留学费用会随着通货膨胀率、汇率的变化而变化,每年有所调整属正常。一些院校也会根据申请人数的多少、专业的冷热来调整学费。英国院校一般有权自行调整学费,而它们会给申请者一个合理的增收理由。学费的最高涨幅往往发生在学生热选的学校、专业上。但这对于想要出国读硕士的中国学生而言,影响不大。现在各国都在用优惠措施吸引学生,将教育作为重要产业的英国会考虑到各国的竞争,对国际学生的收费会遵从规律。此外,英国面向研究生及以上人群的奖学金较多,一般院校的奖学金在1000英镑至3000英镑左右。

 

=====================================================

意大利公立大学(本科、硕士)学费全免 奚正东)

 

意大利公立大学(本科、硕士)学费全免,专业涵盖文、理、体、艺四大类别,有329个系、770多个专业课程供选择。

 

在特色专业方面,意大利拥有一批独具特色的专业。如艺术类的时装设计、造型艺术都堪称一流,是欧洲任何一个国家都无法“克隆”的。意大利的设计类、建筑类、美术、音乐、医、卫、环境、文化遗产保护与经营、旅游等行业,都是处于世界领先地位。

 

在学制及留学要求上,意大利高等教育的学制是本科三年(语言阶段除外)、硕士二年、博士三年。意大利高校对语言要求较高,学历课程采用学分制,三年获本科文凭须修满180个学分,二年硕士需修满120个学分,即达到300个学分。由于意大利公立大学是2005年才向中国学生开放,因此,今年留学意大利入学门坎还不高,高中毕业参加中国普通高考,高考成绩在400分左右的学生都可以报名。

 

在留学费用方面,意大利公立大学全部免除了学费,学生每年只需交纳500-1400欧元的注册费(税);生活方面学生每月吃、住、行大概花费在300-400欧元(合人民币3000-4000元,因城市不同有些差别)。由于意大利政府允许留学生合法打工,这样会降低一些留学费用,因此,对一个普通的家庭来讲,去意大利留学确实是一个不错的选择

 

======================================================

日本留学签证今年很难 赴日必须做足准备  (浙江在线)

 

日本近几年的出生率急剧下降,不少私立大学生源紧张,有的濒临倒闭,争取海外生源成为一些学校的生命线。目前,在日外国留学生人数共有12万多,中国学生有9万多,以北京、上海,浙江等地学生为主。今年4月,日本政府宣布,到2025年接收100万留学生。这些是否意味着到日本求学越来越容易?目前到日本留学的签证比较困难,有的中介签证率在30%-40%,如果第一次拒签,再签就非常困难。留学专家提醒,到日本留学,必须做好充足准备。

 

为什么这么难?

以往到日本留学,特别是申请语言学校,只要高中毕业,具备200个日语课时能力,一般都能申请,但现在限制多了。一些运作良好的语言学校拒收三校生(中专、技校、职高生),除非这些学生个人素质很高,比如具备日语水平能力测试3级水平。日本入国管理局(专门负责外国人出境和到日本移民定居事务的机构) 在签证中审查非常细致,需要6个月,比如20万的存款证明,需要提供详细的存款来源,并要有证据能够证明。

留学顾问分析,2000年前,到日本留学手续简单,成绩不理想的学生也能出去,有的学生到日本偷偷打工,到课率低,学校的教学质量每况愈下,形成恶性循环。现在日本各大学入学考试更加严格。低签证率,一定程度上是为确保生源质量。今年有一批浙江学生申请日本留学特别容易,之前,他们在别国留学,大学毕业后,选择到日本读硕士,这类学生特别受欢迎。

 

学校审核要求越多 保险系数越大

从去年起不断有消息传出,日本几所私立学校面临倒闭,准留学生该怎么避免这些风险呢?衡量一个学校好不好,有几个要素可以在网上查,如学校的升学率如何,签证率高不高。一般来说,学校审核的要求越多,保险系数也比较高。日本比较好的专业有:经济、商科、电子信息、动漫、机械等,在全世界都比较领先,就业前景看好。

 

可以打工  申请者年龄放宽

今年日本出台了不少留学新政,中国学生可以将打工收入作为学费的主要来源。也就是说,中国留学生填写日本留学申请资料,可将每周打工20小时内的收入,作为经费来源之一。以前,到日本留学申请者年龄超过25岁,就比较吃力。今年签证年龄放宽到30周岁。

还有个好消息,随着人民币的升值,到日本留学的费用,现在也比往年降低了30%。目前日本语言学校一年的学费大致为680000-910000日元,专门学校为1050000-1340000日元,一年生活费约为2200000日元。(目前15日元约为1元人民币)

 

=====================================================

自费留学渐成趋势 留学申请中的八大误解(陈雪奕)

 

近年来,出国留学人数日趋增多,特别是自费出国留学人数正在快速增长。但其中不少人想法上存在一些误解。

误解一:获得国外学校录取,就等于能出国。

这是不少初办出国留学者及他们家长容易产生的误区,甚至有些不很专业的中介机构也会产生同样的错误(也有的是存心欺骗申请人)。诚然,办理出国留学,首先必须有学校或培训机构接收你,但这并不等于有了录取通知书,就能成功地出国留学,这只是首要条件而已,更重要的是要申请到出国护照和该国驻华使领馆的学生签证,前者只要申请人出示外国学校的录取通知书,一般在国内大部分城市都能取得,而签证往往不能很顺利获得,这恰恰是出国留学的难点所在。

 

误解二:有了足够的银行存款证明,获得签证就八九不离十。

众所周知,要出国留学,必须有足够的经济能力,因为你出国是去学习知识,是去花钱的(学费和生活费等),因此有足够的银行存款,就能起到证明你经济能力的作用。各国使领馆的签证官员在评估申请人是否真正去留学时,往往第一考虑的因素,就是申请人本人或其家庭、或其担保人的经济能力。由于许多申请人经济能力不行,为求过关,只好临时向亲戚朋友借钱办存款,所以签证官还要核实你存款证明的真实性,调查其“来源”的真假,因此你必须提供其它能证明其“真实性”的资料;其次,除经济能力外,签证官在评估你的申请时还要考虑诸如是否有“移民倾向”,所选择的学校及课程是否真的会对你很有帮助等问题,最后才能作出签证与否的决定。

 

误解三:在国外没有亲戚,就不能申请出国留学。

几年前,国内有些地区的公安部门确实存在“申请护照时,必须有国外亲戚做经济担保人”的规定,但现在已经没有这些规定了。

 

误解四:有国外的亲戚朋友做经济担保人,比国内的经济担保人更有优势。

如果你国内直系亲属(如父母、叔伯阿姨、兄弟姐妹)有足够的经济能力做你的经济赞助人,就比你在国外的非亲非故的朋友做担保人更令签证官员相信其真实性。

 

误解五:没有英文成绩,就不能申请出国留学。

事实是几乎任何一个国家,没有英文成绩的人都可以去留学,只是还要考虑到你的年龄和所要读的课程而已。各个国家在这个问题上都有不同的规定。

 

误解六:有了英文成绩,就能报读任何大学和科目。

只能说,有了英文成绩,就能较容易申请到而已,但不是绝对的。

 

误解七:到西方国家留学就一定比去东南亚国家如新加坡、马来西亚更具优势。

虽然,大多数西方国家(如美、英、澳、纽西兰等国)无论在教育还是科技领域都处在世界领先地位,但其他国家也有自己的优势。如最近马来西亚学院推出的双联课程和“30”课程(指三年全在马来西亚就读,就可以获取上述西方国家的大学学士学位),在国际教育市场上具有很大的吸引力,也是值得向中等以上收入家庭的学生推荐的。它的优点是,学费和生活费只是西方国家的三分之一,而取得的文凭是和西方国家颁发的一样的。

 

误解八:获得留学签证,就等于能在国外半工半读。

事实是,只有极少数国家(如澳大利亚、纽西兰)规定某些学生签证每周可以工作15-20小时,详细规定在学生签证上有说明。有些国家是严禁学生做兼职的(如英国等),有些国家则要求学生到达该国后必须向有关部门申请后才可以工作(如美国等)。

 

===============================================

留学韩国奖学金项目多

 

近年来,韩国大学学费以每年5%左右的速度增长,不过韩国许多大学都有奖学金项目。通常来讲,外国学生获得奖学金的方式大体有两种:

一是获得学校无条件提供的奖学金:韩国排名前十位的大学基本上都有奖学金向留学生提供。许多韩国名牌大学对于研究生都给于100%免除学费的奖学金。

二是申请知名理工大学(仅适用于研究生以上):成绩一流的学生可以通过该种方式得到奖学金。该类学生一般应有如下特点:GRE成绩极高(1300分、1400分以上)TOEFL成绩(旧托福考试600分以上,新托福考试100分以上);本科背景好,比如学生本科院校为国际知名或韩国知名的理工大学;学生在本科阶段发表过重要论文,如曾经在SCI核心期刊上发表文章,并能得到知名大学教授的推荐。

 

专业入学面试难于语言学习

一些人认为,语言是留学生的最大障碍。语言过关之后,很多问题便可以迎刃而解。其实不然。尚未达到韩国大学语言要求的留学生需要在韩国的大学读半年至一年的语言。通过语言能力考试以后,再经过大学的专业入学面试,可获得进入韩国大学学习专业课的机会。

专家建议,尽管一些学生已在中国通过了韩国语能力考试,也最好到韩国读一段时间的语言。然而,一些超一流大学的专业入学面试却比较难,学生即使通过了语言关,也未必能够进入到理想的大学学习专业课。因此,建议学生不要盲目的把眼光盯在那些超一流大学,其实在韩国大学综合排名前20的学校,都是非常优秀的学校。

 

填报资料分“公”、“私”

近年来,由于一些申请材料出现了弄虚作假的行为,韩国加大了资料审查力度。假信息一旦被韩国日趋严格的审查发现,势必耽误申请人正常的留学计划。然而,填报个人信息也有技巧,如由于学历等公共信息很容易通过查询得知,申请人绝对不要在这方面造假。但不太重要的个人信息如课程成绩,申请人拥有一定的选择性,如选择提交主要课程和成绩比较好的课程,不提交非主要和自己不擅长的课程。

 

=============================================================

美国高校前途最被看好的10个新颖专业 (艾迪留学论坛08/07) 

 

 近年来,随着科技的发展和商业领域的拓宽,美国大学中,一些过去根本没有或是不受重视的学科,渐渐脱颖而出,成为越来越受欢迎的专业。美国负责为大学生联系申请奖学金、助学金的网站,FastWeb.com最近撰文,介绍了10个新颖并前途看好的专业:

 

1、新媒体 (New media)

网络媒体是传媒、新闻界增长最快的领域,新媒体专业将传统新闻课程与数字媒体设计和管理结合起来。其中有些学校更注重电脑技术和网页设计,向旧金山艺术学院(Academy of Art University in San Francisco);另一些学校则更强调传播整合和数码技术,比如印第安纳大学和普度大学。

 

2、生物工程 (Biotechnology)

生物工程专业兼顾生物学和工程学,旨在解决农业、食品科学、和医学方面的实用问题,是一项交叉学科。生物工程专业通常与商学课程相辅佐,向Johns Hopkins大学,就是提供这两个专业的双学位。很多生物工程专业原本都是研究生水平的,不过,近来本科学位毕业生的需求越来越高,象德拉瓦州立大学(Delaware State University)。与生物工程专业相关的生物信息(bioinformatics)和生物医学工程(biomedical engineering),前景也不错。

 

3、有机农业 (Organic agriculture)

2006年,华盛顿州立大学率先开设了有机农业专业,该专业的负责人派瑞罗(Cathy Perillo)教授说:“为了适应消费者对有机食品的需求量增加,很多大公司开始雇用这方面的专门人才。”佛罗里达大学也在2006年开始增设了有机农业专业,尽管这个专业尚未在高校中广泛展开,一些学校正着手准备开办,向加大戴维斯分校。

 

4、国土安全专业 (Homeland security)

9.11后兴起的国土安全专业课程涵盖面很广,从心理学道灾难救助,从联邦法律到危险物品处理。美国联邦政府的国土安全部为这个专业的学生提供了相当多的奖学金和助学金,并在国土安全防御中心提供一个18个月、授予学位的培训课程。

这个专业目前在社区学院中发展迅速,根据美国社区学院协会的统计,85%的国土安全专业毕业生都来自社区学院。

             

5、网络商业和网络市场专业 (E-business/e-marketing)

此专业着眼于通过网络进行的商业交易,往往与客户沟通、雇员管理、商业伙伴沟通有关,一般是在商学院提供的研究生水平课程,但是,向University of Akron和密苏里州立大学,均开始提供本科学位。据美国劳工统计局的资料,这个专业学生需求量的增长将大大高于应届毕业生的平均水平。

 

6、电脑游戏设计 (Computer game design)

这个10年前还闻所未闻的专业,现在已经在全美150多所高校扎下了根。有些学院注重游戏的研发,向DePaul University;而另一些学校则强调游戏设计的艺术性,向凤凰城艺术学院(the Art Institute of Phoenix);密执安州大将于07年秋季开始一个名为“严肃游戏设计”(Serious Game Design)的硕士学位,学生将会得到国际游戏研发者协会(The International Game Developers AssoCIation)的奖学金。

 

7、法律财会专业 (Forensic accounting)

尽管这个专业已经有挺长的历史了,但它的兴起则是得益于近几年来不断出现的公司财政丑闻,现在,这个专业成为会计领域里增长最快的专业,课程包括金钱侦探(负责调查公司与法律相关的财务漏洞),除了基本会计学技能之外,此专业要求学生具有更广泛的商业知识。

大部分学校提供本科学位,少数学校,向西弗吉尼亚大学,也提供硕士学位。

 

8、人机互动专业 (Human computer interactionHCI)

HCI主要设计提高人们使用高科技产品的能力,并深入研究科技对个体和群体的影响,这个专业一般是计算机科学学院的研究生课程,但有些学校,向新泽西理工学院 (New Jersey Institute of Technology)已经开始开设本科课程

 

9、社会与环境专业 (Society and the environment)

此专业关注社会与环境的相互影响,在不同学校里侧重稍有不同,比如,印第安纳大学开办的是环境科学(environmental science)和公众事务(public affairs)的双学位;而哥伦比亚大学则把气候学与社会学相结合。学生一般是主修社会科学理论中的环境问题,大多数学校都是硕士生水平的课程,也有加大伯克利分校开始开办本科课程。

 

10、超微工程专业 (Nanotechnology)

在超微领域(分子水平)研究物理、工程学、和化学的实用科学,最近几年在国家超微工程启动会(National Nanotechnology Initiative)的支持下,越来越引人注目。大多数学校提供的是研究生水平的课程,少数学校如路易斯安娜州大,开设超微系统工程的本科专业。

 

============================================

留學,保險了嗎?(胡春梓 )

 

改革開放以來,在中國“支持留學,來去自由”的政策鼓勵下,中國赴海外留學的人數越來越多。中國與世界各國在科技、經濟、文化方面的交流日趨頻繁,公派、自費到海外求學的人員逐年增加。然而,誰能為遠在異國他鄉的莘莘學子撐起一把安全的保護傘呢? 現在,隨著留學熱潮的不斷升溫,海外留學生的安全問題,正受到國內各方的關注。

  

澳大利亞:買了保險才能入學  

在許多國家,對於國際留學生醫療保險是強制執行的。留學澳大利亞的學生必須先參加醫療保險,才能註冊入學。同樣做法的國家還有新西蘭、美國、德國、加拿大等。澳大利亞為留學本國的海外學生專門設立了一種醫療保險制度,即海外學生醫療保險制度(OS-HC),除瑞典和挪威以外的所有留學生,持學生簽證在澳逗留期間都需辦理海外學生醫療保險。加入該保險時必須預付一年的保險費用,約349澳元;之後每年均必須支付保費,各州略有不同,但都在300澳元上下。加入醫保後,除眼科和牙科外的醫療費用均能獲得80%以上的報銷。

  

對於其他險種,學生在註冊結束後,還可以投保常規海外學生醫療保險之外的附加險種,這其中可以包括意外險、人身財產險等。在澳大利亞,車險具體分為全險、半險和第三者責任險。澳大利亞政府強制所有車主必須申購第三者責任險,因此開車的學生應該特別注意這一點。另外,如果是持其他類型的簽證入境澳大利亞進行三個月或者少於三個月的短期學習,就不需要申請辦理海外學生醫療保險。這種情況下,最好辦理旅行保險或個人醫療保險。

  

英國:手持醫療卡走天下

  

與澳大利亞不同,留學英國沒有要求一定要購買人身意外保險及財產保險,而且是否購買保險與申請大學及簽證也沒有任何關係。由於英國的治安較好,所以購買保險的學生也很少,是否購買保險完全由學生自主決定。

  

對於醫療保險,在所有的留學國中,英國的醫療服務相對來說是比較好的。英國的國民福利之一就是免費的醫療服務,外國學生、學生家屬或赴英工作人員如果在英國居住或學習超過6個月,就可以享受國家健康體系的免費服務。與中國不同的是,在英國,人們生病不直接上醫院去看病,而是去診所,除非需要急診或醫生要求患者去做某項檢查。看病時,只要出示醫療卡,就診就不需要任何費用,但開處方要收費,一次約為6英鎊。

  

如果生病住院,一切費用包括大型手術費,全部都是免費,醫院每天還要免費提供三餐和兩次茶點。因此,到英國留學的學生無須購買醫療保險。所以,中國留學生抵英後,就應馬上到學校的健康中心註冊申請醫療卡,有的診所可以要求申請人在註冊時進行一次體檢,主要是給以後指定的醫生提供參考資料。申請人註冊後4周左右就會得到一張醫療卡,憑該卡可到指定的醫生那兒免費就診。但要特別提醒留學生,在英國,牙醫是不免費的,而且價格昂貴。因此,如果你在英留學不到6個月,或覺得自己牙齒比較“脆弱”,就需要購買醫療保險。

  

美國:自費留學應加險

  

與澳大利亞相似,美國對國際學生上保險也帶有強制性質,但主要是指醫療保險。在你註冊時,學校就會在入學通知上表明有多少費用是醫保的費用。美國的大學一般都設有為學生提供服務的醫療診所和醫療保健機構,學生只需交納少量的保健費用就可以免費看病。但學校裡的這種醫療只限於小毛病和急救處理。萬一遇到嚴重的疾病,只能轉往當地的醫院,所需的醫療費完全由學生自己支付。

 

一般來說,獲得美國某單位資助或享受獎學金的學生,都是由資助方給學生提供健康保險。但是,自費留學生需要自己參加一項健康保險計畫,這樣才能使自己在萬一受重傷或生重病時不必支付昂貴的醫療費用。由於美國的醫療診治費用非常昂貴,個人難以負擔,沒有保險的病人醫院一般不願意接受,因此必須要買保險。

  

這種保險可以是學生自己購買,也可以是美國的學校向學生提供項目,學生自己買。美國的外國留學生事務全國委員會同兩家保險公司合作,專門設計了幾種適合在美國的外國留學生需要的保險。這種為留學生設計的保險計畫,只對住院期間的病房費和膳食費規定最高的限額,其他所有費用全部是由保險公司承擔。保費通常比市場價格低,理賠起來也十分快速,比國內的保險還是方便不少。

  

另外,業內人士還提醒留學生,在外除了要事先瞭解援助管道、遇事鎮定、安全防範以外,還必須提高保險意識。特別是年齡比較小、獨立生活能力較差的學生。對於其他的險種,有關專家指出,留學生在確定自己的保險計畫前,應該儘量瞭解留學物件國的保險政策,聽取所去學校留學生服務中心的意見,並和當地的留學生及時交流,最終選擇一份經濟實用的保險計畫。

 

=================================================

你为何遭到拒签?细数美国留学拒签三大缘由

 

据美国官方数据显示,2006-2007学年申请赴美留学的中国学生同比增加了18%,同期的签证通过率也高达88%。为吸引更多中国学生赴美深造,美驻中国各使领馆正在积极采取措施以加快学生签证的审批进程。

 

在此留美形势一片大好的背景下,还有不少学生由于种种原因而遗憾地遭到拒签。外服留学美国专家组就其中的主要原因作进一步探究。

 

拒签理由之一:移民倾向

 

外服留学的专家明确指出,在面签被拒的案例中,申请人有移民倾向是最常见的理由之一。申请人在面签时除了要准备合情合理的学习计划和毕业后的打算外,必须向签证官证明本人无移民倾向。最好的方法就是主动向签证官显示本人在国内有牢不可分的“约束力”。专家建议可以从以下几方面来体现这种“约束力”:

 

■在国内拥有自己的不动产、银行存款、汽车等大宗生活资料,或拥有自己的公司。

 

■在国内拥有稳定职业,可以请单位开具证明为其在留学期间留职停薪,学成回国后欢迎继续加盟工作。

 

■出示相关文件证明其在国内有难以割舍的家庭和社会关系,本人非常热爱家人和亲朋好友,毕业后将回国与他们团聚。

 

签证官的职责就是把非移民倾向的申请人从有移民倾向的申请人中筛选出来,遵循“自由心证”的原则。因此即使材料准备得很充分,也不乏被拒的可能。

 

拒签理由之二:财务担保不明确

 

通常申请美国留学签证需要提供“足以涵盖学生求学期间所有费用”的资金担保,并且要求资金有效期在6个月以上。目前有相当比例的拒签案例就是由于申请人所提供资金担保不符合相关规定。

 

由于美国地域辽阔,为数众多的院校分布在各州,无论是学费还是生活费差异十分显著。一般公立大学的年学费在1-1.8万美元(约人民币8-14.5万元),而好的私立大学可达4万美元(约人民币32万员)或更高。小城镇的年生活费约6000美元(约人民币4.8万元),而大城市要超过1万美元(约人民币8万元)。因此每一位申请人要根据自己申请院校和报读课程的实际情况来确定资金担保的数额。从理论上讲,资金担保越充足获签把握就越大,并且要确保资金存期达到6个月以上。

 

拒签理由之三:提供虚假材料

 

对于任何国家的签证审核,申请材料的真实性都是条不可违越的高压线,美国也不例外。有不少学生因为提供各种各样的虚假材料而遭到拒签。比如为了达到签证所规定的资金担保要求,伪造银行票据;为了隐瞒在美亲属信息,采用假身份文件等。其实美国留学申请被拒并不可怕,完全可以通过弥补后二签甚至三签通过。但一旦是因为提供虚假材料被拒则相当严重,可以说基本断送了今后获签的可能性。

 

==============================================

留学准备先知道:全球哪些专业经久不衰

 

随着暑假的流逝,不少怀有留学梦的学生已经开始投入到留学的准备之中。但是,众多专业中,哪些专业倍受新宠?哪些专业又经久不衰呢?

 

全球最热专业:

护理专业护理专业在全世界范围内都是个永远不会失业的职业。随着人口的老化,护士变得奇缺。到2020年,美国将需要280万名全职护士。而在澳大利亚,护士成为最紧缺、回报又很高的职业。无论在哪个国家,护理本科毕业生在毕业后4个月找到工作的就业率高达97%,护理本科毕业生在获注册护士资格后,第一年平均年薪为25万元人民币。

 

未来高薪专业:

酒店管理酒店管理专业是全球十大热门行业之一,近年来,在国际人才市场上,酒店管理人才出现了供不应求的局面。而在中国就业市场上,随着越来越多的国际大型活动在中国频繁举行,我国各种形式的酒店经营模式都将得到快速发展,对酒店管理人才的迫切需求已经开始凸显。酒店管理人员在中国十大百万年薪职业中排名第六。

 

最具发展潜力专业:

旅游管理中国目前是世界第四大旅游目的国,同时也是世界第六大旅游消费国。中国旅游业的快速发展,对旅游管理人才提出了更大的需求和更高的标准。而在澳大利亚、美国、英国等国家,也鼓励海外学生到当地就读旅游管理专业,并为这些学生毕业后的就业和移民提供更好的条件。

 

当然,一些比较理智的大学毕业生也会选择在自己原有的专业上继续深造。如,计算机、会计等现今仍然非常热门且具有很好发展前景的专业。

 

=========================================================

40% top Chinese students choose to study abroad

For students with the highest scores in China's National College Entrance Examination (gaokao) from 1977 to 1998, pursuing further studies or going abroad are the first options after graduating from college. Among all the superlative test takers, 40 percent chose to chase their dreams overseas, according to a report on the career development of outstandingly-performing gaokao students. 

 

Going abroad or pursuing further studies are primary options.

Almost all examinees taking the crown in the gaokao excel at college studies. Only a small portion of them chose to get a job after graduation. The majority went on to earn a master's or doctorate degree in China or in other countries, based on the report. Among 350 people covered in the survey, some 40 percent headed overseas.

 

Top test performers can be under-performers in the workplace

 

Interestingly, gaokao-crown-takers failed to be cited as Outstanding Entrepreneurs or Outstanding Politicians in 2007 China University Prominent Alumni List. In the academic arena, none of them won Cheung Kong Scholar Awards or awards for academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering.  The report indicates that students with stellar performances in exams would not necessarily out-perform others in the workplace.

 

As the crème de la crème, students ranking top in the gaokao would usually make their way to the most prestigious schools in the country, enjoying the best education in China. Surprisingly, however, their career development often falls short of public expectations. They really made it into the limelight through their test scores yet ended up mediocre after the dust settled. Such contrast deserves attention from Chinese society and deserves reflection in the educational sphere.

 

In-depth analysis of the report

a. Most top test takers chose a career irrelevant to their majors at school

 

Most top test takers landed jobs without much relevance to what they actually learned at school, according to the report.

 

One of the major reasons behind their lackluster work performance is due to the fact that these students didn't have clear career objectives upon entering college. Many simply followed the crowd and picked the most popular majors.

 

Their energies and educational resources were both wasted. This is something educators should reflect upon.

 

b. Top-notch gaokao students concentrated in a few schools

 

After 1999, top-notch gaokao students have been intensely concentrated in a few best schools. Some have shifted from the mainland to Hong Kong institutions of higher education beginning in 2005.

==================================================