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French fashion company Pierre Cardin said on Monday it was negotiating with two Chinese firms to sell certain licenses in China.

The 86-year-old designer said it has been negotiating to sell textile and accessory licenses in China to two Chinese firms for 200 million euros (280 million U.S. dollars).

A spokesman with the company said the two Chinese firms were private shoemakers Jiansheng Trading Ltd. and Cardanro.

According to company sources, the sale to the Chinese companies of 32 licenses had been in talks for the past two months and a deal would be signed “imminently.”

Earlier on Monday, the company denied that it was to sell off to Chinese firms. It said: “This is not about the sales of the Pierre Cardin group. The couturier is in talks with Chinese companies only on the sale of certain licenses in China, as it was in the past for Japan for example.”

Pierre Cardin was the first Western fashion designer to hold a fashion show in Beijing in 1979, shortly after China started its reform and opening-up.

Always concerned about staying in touch with her subjects, Queen Elizabeth II has invited Britain’s royal family to follow her example and tighten the purse strings during the financial downturn.

The 82-year-old monarch has warned her grandsons Princes William, 26, and Harry, 24 - third and fourth in line to the throne - that all ostentatious signs of living it up would be inappropriate, according to local newspapers.

British subjects are apparently in no mood to see the young royals partying in exclusive London nightclubs while the kingdom sinks into recession, the cost of living rockets and jobs are lost.

“Whatever is the mood of the nation, she (Queen Elizabeth) tries to go along with that mood,” said Nicholas Davies, an author of several books on the monarchy.

The sovereign has a personal fortune of $475 million, according to The Sunday Times newspaper’s 2008 Rich List, but is not a spendthrift.

“She’s not a flamboyant character and never has been,” Davies said.

“She is not someone who has gone and spoiled her children, because she doesn’t believe in spoiling them. She would expect them all (the other royals) to follow her example this Christmas.

“Children or grand-children, they will all behave in the same way. It is unlikely that this coming season we will see William and Harry going out to nightclubs, getting blind drunk and fooling around with attractive girls.”

Adapting to the credit crunch should not be difficult for Queen Elizabeth, who has long since garnered a reputation for looking after the pennies.

For example, she insists that the Buckingham Palace lights are turned off when rooms are vacated and left-overs from banquets are re-used.

Annual head of state expenditure has dropped from $58.8 million in 1991-1992 to $27 million in 2007-2008.

In mid-October this year, during her state visit to Slovakia and Slovenia, she showed how she has cut back her wardrobe expenditure as a nod to the tougher times enveloping her subjects.

For a state banquet in the the Slovene capital Ljubljana, the queen asked her dressmakers to make her a formal gown out of some material she was given more than 20 years ago during a tour of the Middle East.

For her walkabout in the city centre, she wore a red outfit already seen at an official engagement in April. In Slovakia, she appeared in the same pink wool outfit that she wore on Easter Sunday.

Normally, etiquette demands that the queen never wears the same outfit twice.

However, the British press believes Her Majesty is a convert to “credit crunch couture”, or fashion for those whose clothing spending has been hit by the financial downturn.

Her husband Prince Philip remains a peppery naval officer without no zest for flashy spending. At the age of 87, he still wears trousers bought 30 years ago.

For centuries, Macao has been the stronghold of Portuguese culture in China. With the opening of the Wangfujing Legendale Hotel at Jinbao street, now food lovers in Beijing can enjoy their share of high quality culinary treats from Portugal, and Macao in particular.

To reach the Camões restaurant amidst the golden and crystalline grandeur of the colossal Legendale Hotel is somewhat of a challenge. Attractive blue and white Azulejos, painted, tin-glazed, ceramic tilework lead the way. Inside, the Camões restaurant awaits with a warm blend of brownish tiled floors and white and blue furniture that creates the right setting to dive into the divine peculiarities of Portuguese cuisine.

The restaurant manager, Mario Reis, and his two chefs make no compromises: The food served here is authentic, which sometimes requires some explanation to the distinguished guests. The oven baked Bacalhau is not made from fresh fish but from cod that is caught, dried and salted in Norway and revived in a 32-hour’s process of soaking, rinsing, seasoning and careful preparation.

The result is stunning. The concentrated, moderately salty taste of the brick-shaped and sturdy cod is offset by a delicate crust of corn breadcrumbs and the obligatory olive oil that smoothens it all. The price around 200 RMB is reasonable for this dish that combines exquisite ingredients representing the best traditions of Portuguese seafood cuisine.

Most of Camões’ dishes present themselves in a similarly traditional fashion. The cold pig head slices are a refreshing appetizer from the Portuguese countryside. The rabbit comes with strong earthy laurel flavors that remind us of the rough Portuguese Hinterland. And then there is hearty green vegetable soup “Caldo Verde”: With mashed potato as a foundation it’s the ideal dish to warm up from cold Beijing winter weather.

The collection of Portuguese pastries that concluded our dinner impressed, with a variety and gusto. Nice tones of cinnamon in the tartlet, a rich and dark chocolate mousse and an intense almond cake confirmed that the new Beijing Legendale is a place not to be missed.

Location(s) 90-92 Jinbao Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing (010) 8511 3388

Fishermen in Macao set sail for ocean fishing Wednesday noon when a two-month fishing ban was lifted.
About 300 fishing vessels will leave a harbor in Macao for the South China sea in the coming couple of days, Fung Hee, director of the Fishermen Association of Macao, told Xinhua.
He said that there will be enough supply of marine products soon in the market, and their prices will go down slightly to the normal level.
“Macao fishermen agree that the fishing ban is conducive to protecting fishing resources and safeguarding their long-term interests,” he said.
They expect that fishing departments in the inland areas of China have also effectively carried out the ban so that they will have good harvests in the future, Fung said.
The population of fishermen in Macao is estimated at about 4, 000.
According to a circular issued by China’s Ministry of Agriculture early this year, trawling and purse seine fishing are banned in the area north to 12 degrees of north latitude from June 1 to August 1.
Macao’s fishermen were busy repairing their boats and nets in the past two months. Some of them were provided bank loans for the overhaul.

A recent report in the Outlook Weekly, a Chinese current affairs magazine, has revealed that some local authorities in the country are seeking to hand out fines for their own financial gain.

The article said that some grassroots law enforcement departments were increasing their revenues through the imposition of various fines or charges under the name of law enforcement since a percentage of fines was refunded to law enforcement departments and individuals.

The policy of the Public Security Bureau of Gongzhuling City in northeast China’s Jilin Province is to refund 10 percent of all fines to individual policeman and 20 percent to grassroots police stations, the magazine, sponsored by Xinhua, reported.

In central Hunan Province, drivers have complained that 40 speed limit signs and speed cameras have been erected along a 25-kilometer stretch of what is supposed to be a high speed road in the hope of being able to increase the number of speeding fines. Some of them even require drivers to drive less than 20 kilometers per hour, it said.

In 2006, the total fines imposed on traffic regulation violators in Gongzhuling City reached 11 million yuan, of which 1.1 million (143,230 U.S. dollars) was refunded to 50 traffic policemen - a bonus of 22,000 yuan each, it said.

In another example, the magazine reported that a county government in north China’s Shanxi province had built a luxurious government office building with 10 million yuan (1.31 million U.S. dollars) obtained from fine revenues, pointing out that the county is listed as an underdeveloped area by the central government.

Under the existing financial system, Chinese administrative, executive and judicial departments are encouraged to “make profits by themselves” instead of solely relying on financial allocation from the state budget, the article argued.

Instead of turning over revenue accrued from fines, the local departments keep the money which has led to a high instance of arbitrary charges and fines.

In 2006, gains from all kinds of charges totaled about one trillion yuan, accounting for one quarter of total government revenue, the magazine reported.

“The law enforcement departments tend to commercialize fines because of the legal existence of off-budget capital under China’s current financial system,” Li Chenyan a professor from Peking University told Oriental Weekly.

“The central government hopes to help grassroots departments to cope with financial deficiency,” said Li, “but this preferential policy is short of effective supervision and some departments and individuals use it to enrich their own purses.”

Li warned that an excessive amount of fines will also make people doubt the solemnity of the law.

“Law enforcement departments commercializing fines and increasing their income through fines will give people the wrong impression that as long as you have money, you can violate laws and regulations,” Li stressed.

He suggested that a new financial system should be established in which all government revenues should be controlled by the state treasury and cannot be refunded to individuals at will.

Li was echoed by Du Liyuan, a lawyer in Beijing, who said, “Administrative fines and charges must be based on laws and regulations and all incomes of local government departments should be turned over to state treasury.”

Yang Hongmei will have more than the country’s top women pros for competition this week when she defends her Orient Masters Wenzhou title starting Wednesday in Zhejiang province, as the field also includes six male members from China.

While the top male amateurs won’t be eligible to win the trophy or the 50,000 U.S. dollars prize purse, they will be using the tournament for training purposes and provide the 77 female pros and amateurs from China and Thailand with a good gauge to see how their games measure up against the opposite sex.

Yang, who also captured last week’s Beijing leg for her fourth career Orient Masters title, was victorious in Wenzhou last year when she pipped Sichuan compatriot Yang Taoli by a stroke with a two-over 218 score.

She said her preparations for the tournament were not different as she had played the course many times before.

“The golf course is good and I will give it my best performance and try and win two in a row. It is a new experience for me to be in a position to win consecutive tournaments, but I will just stick to my plan of taking my pars on the par fours and being aggressive on the par fives to make birdie,” the 32-year-old Haikou-based player said.

“The Wenzhou fairways are very narrow and up and down. This is very suitable for my game as my driving is not very long. It is a very hilly course.”

Of the male field, Zhang Xinjun is one of the country’s top amateurs and someone who has already made his mark in the professional ranks.

The 21-year-old from Xi’an topped the pros last month when he won the Beijing Whirl Win Pro-Am. He also made the cut against the pros in the Pine Valley Beijing Open.

“I was really surprised to hear about us playing in a women’s event. I got a call from the CGA (China Golf Association) and they told me it is not a formal event for the men, just training. But I also feel pressure, not relaxed, because this is the first in China golf history,” said the former caddie.

“A friend said last month I got a pro win and now I was trying to win the women’s trophy. But the men and women will be teeing from different tees. For us, this event is just for training so its okay and I am looking forward to it.”

Another player looking for a repeat win in Wenzhou is Thailand’s Nontaya Srisawang. The 20-year-old Chiang Mai native won the 2006 Orient Masters Wenzhou by a dominant six strokes during a rain-delayed 36-hole tournament. Last year, she missed the opportunity to defend her title as she was playing stateside on the Futures Tour development circuit.

“Sure, it is always good to come back to a course where you have won because there is always that feeling of confidence in knowing that you have played well here before,” said Nontaya, equal fifth in Beijing last week and three-time winner on All-Thailand domestic tour this year.

“This golf course is in the mountains so it is very narrow. A lot of shots are playing into a hill or up a mountain and you really have to adjust your game to make sure your length is correct.

“I have been practicing my approach shots since last week to get it close (to the hole) and also my putting to give myself chances at birdie. I just need to stick to my routine and hopefully the birdies will come.”

The Orient Masters Wenzhou is a China Golf Association-sanctioned event.

Wenzhou Orient Yangyi Country Club is a par-72, 6,260 layout designed by T. K. Pen in China’s southern Zhejiang province.

Facing a housing market lull which could drag China’s economy further in the backdrop of a worldwide financial crisis, Beijing is probing possibilities to loosen its macro control to activate the real estate sector.

As many as 18 Chinese cities, including Shanghai,Guangzhou,Hangzhou and Xi’an, have announced detailed policies to boost their property market, which have seen at least four months of consecutive drops in housing prices.

Propelled by the local governments’ measures, the central government is believed to be studying market trends. Analysts predict that Beijing is expected to jump on the bandwagon by rectifying its strict regulatory decrees of higher taxation, and removing draconian control on bank lending to anyone buying second homes.

Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference Thursday in Beijing, Du Ying, deputy minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, told reporters that the real estate industry, a major sector of China’s fixed-asset investment, that a major drive behind the country’s past rapid economic rise is declining, and the government is “closely watching developments”.

Some Chinese economists caution that a worsening slump in the real estate market in China would not only undermine the healthy growth of the economy, but also put the country’s financial system at risk.

The worsening financial crisis, now sweeping the world and hardening the lives of many, originated from the subprime debacle in mid 2007 in the United States. Because of the sudden bust of a 10-year American housing boom, a rocketing number of American homeowners were unable to pay mortgages, and the banks were troubled by mountain-high bad debts.

To prevent the same scenario from happening, the 18 Chinese cities have resorted to measures, including doling out subsidies to private homebuyers, unprecedented since former Prime Minister Zhu Rongji launched privatization policies of housing; cutting taxes on housing deeds, and even giving permanent urban residents permits to lure outside homebuyers, in Hangzhou’s case.

Shanghairaised the mortgage ceiling of the housing accumulation fund by one-fifth, into which employees and employers deposit money every month in return for lower mortgage rates, a move expected to encourage city residents to apply for a larger housing loan.

Regulatory Macro Control

Like the United States and Europe,China also witnessed a sizzling real estate sector since 2000, led by Shanghai,Guangzhou, and other relatively developed coastal cities, that benefited from the reform and opening-up policies. Buoyed by increasing incomes, a rising number of well-off urban residents purchased their own homes, in addition to cars and other luxuries, and become China’s middle-class.

However, the laissez-faire development of the property market has led to skyrocketing prices, which resulted in many grievances from homebuyers. At one time, the selling price of per square meter for a downtown Shanghai plush apartment was reported at more than 120,000 yuan (US$17.60). The housing price hikes also created run away inflation in 2007.

This led to Beijing putting on the brakes in August 2007 by introducing higher taxes on housing prices, collecting more fees, and imposing 110 percent mortgage rates on second apartments, effectively controlling hoarding and speculation. As a result, housing prices began to decline.

Waning Property Market

In Shenzhen, China’s first special economic zone, housing prices have declined more than 40 percent from its peak last year. Sales in Beijing, Shanghai and all other major cities have reported a substantive drop.

Statistics released by the state media, Xinhua, show the housing sales volume in Beijing during the National Day holiday decreased by 72 percent, compared with the same period last year. This period is traditionally a sales peak time for real estate transactions. Despite the deep price cuts made by property developers, only 69 apartments on average were sold per day during that week.

As the backbone of China’s state revenues, the weakening property demand may hit the country’s public coffers and fiscal policies as well.

The fall in property sales market will lead to a reduced demand for construction materials like steel, cement and lumber, and at the same time trigger slumps in China’s fixed-asset investment sector. Combined with a sharp drop in exports initiated by Wall Street’s stock plunge and global financial turmoil, China may face big risks in a slowdown of GDP growth rates and even an economic downturn.

The sluggish property market has also sparked concerns over the country’s capital safety, mainly from the banks. There are fears that domestic financial institutions may be caught in the same dilemma as their US counterparts, some of whom went belly up due to the subprime crisis.

Wait-and-see Homebuyers

The 18 Chinese cities used many measures to stimulate their real estate markets: extending the length of time homeowners can pay back mortgages, reducing property taxes of private house owners and canceling restrictions on buying a second home. These policies were a great impetus for Chinese salary earners who took out all their savings to buy a home a year ago, but in the current bleak housing market, more and more potential homebuyers would rather wait and see regardless of those favorable policies.

Many potential buyers believe there is still room for further price adjustments and think it is too risky to buy homes now, given the instability of the global economy. “I will not open my purse until April or May next year, when I believe housing prices may undergo a 30 percent drop,” said a Beijing resident surnamed Yu, who wants to buy a home in the Chinese capital.

Asian Tour star Alex Wu Ashun will return to the Omega China Tour for next week’s one million RMB (about 146,000 U.S. dollars) Dell Championship in Xiamen, which boasts one of the strongest fields in the circuit’s five-year history.

Zhang Lianwei, a four-time Asian Tour winner, defending champion Li Chao and reigning Omega Order of Merit winner Liao Guiming are among the established Chinese stars competing for the circuit’s record-equaling purse.

Lu Wen-teh and Lin Keng-chi, who have each won five times on the Asian Tour, are the event’s two Chinese Taipei invites, while many eyes will be on teenagers James Su Dong and Indiana University student Han Ren.

A 10-strong quota of foreign PGA qualifiers includes Q-School winner C.J. Gatto, Nick Redfern and former European Tour player Max Kellner.

Wu, China’s most successful Asian Tour player since Liang Wenchong, will be a popular draw as he returns to his native Fujian province after tying for fourth in last week’s 500,000-U.S.-dollar Singha Thailand Open.

It was his best finish on the regional circuit following a tied-seventh finish in February’s Asian Tour International.

“I really want to do well at the Dell Championship as I’ve never won on the Omega China Tour. I’ll play several events this year as I definitely want to become a champion,” said the 23-year-old, who is based in Shanghai but was born in Zhangzhou, near Xiamen.

“Recently I’ve been playing well on the Asian Tour because I learned so much in my first season as a pro. Now I’m more experienced, I also have a stronger mental game.”

Spending most of 2007 working on his game at Oak Valley Golf Academy in California, Wu turned pro after qualifying for last year’s Asian Tour.

After a slow start, he made seven straight cuts last season, including a tied-11th finish at the Macau Open, and regained his card by finishing joint-fifth at this year’s Qualifying School.

Wu also racked up two top-10 and top top-20 finishes in his four appearances on last year’s Omega China Tour and is now making his 10th appearance on his domestic circuit following five earlier appearances as an amateur.

“The Omega China Tour has become more competitive as the re are more good players, such as the Chinese Taipei invites and the foreign players from Q-School,” Wu said.

“The whole level of competition has improved greatly. I’m excited about playing on the Tour again and I hope to learn from some of the se top players.”

Lu and Lin will bring decades of top-level experience to the event. Lu, who has won over 1.3-million-U.S.-dollar on the Asian Tour, became the circuit’s first non-mainland winner last April when he held off teenage playing partner Benny Ye Jianfeng to win the Kunming Championship.

The veteran’s victory ushered in a period of domination by experienced Chinese Taipei pros, with compatriot Hsu Mong-nan victorious in Shanghai and Tsai Chi-huang winning back-to-back titles in Chengdu and Tianjin.

However, Lu believes Wu and other young Chinese golfers are set to replicate the achievements of Zhang and Liang in the international arena.

“I’m happy to return to the Omega China Tour because I really enjoyed playing last year. I know Wu Ashun and Shang Lei from the Asian Tour. Wu is a very good player, with a good attitude and personality. He has an open mind and has the power to win,” said the 46-year-old Lu, winner of back-to-back Mercuries Taiwan Masters titles.

“Li Chao is also a good player and has a good chance to win again in Xiamen. There are also so many excellent younger players. I hope more young players from the mainland and Chinese Taipei will have a chance to compete on the Asian Tour.”

Lin, known as ‘Lin the Pin’ for his accurate iron play on his way to winning the 1995 Asian Tour Order of Merit, has spent much of his career in Japan and will be making his debut on the Omega China Tour.

This year marks the second full season the Omega China Tour is offering two invites each to Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong and Macau, and places for 10 foreign PGA members resident in Greater China who earned the ir place at Qualifying School.

What clogs waterways, harms bird and marine life, can be found in abundance in the city and the most remote parts of China and takes millions of years to disappear?

The answer is plastic bags. It is hard to imagine that something that seems so harmless could be doing so much damage to the environment both in China and globally.

Throughout the world 1 trillion bags are used a year, which accounts for over a million a minute. And considering it takes years for them to decompose, the global fight to limit the usage of plastic bags needs to be revved up a notch or two.

Plastic bags not only cause visual pollution, who hasn’t been witness to plastic bags strewn across riverbanks, floating in waterways and clinging to trees, but they also clog drains which can lead to flooding in urban areas.

Wildlife in the marine environment, such as birds and seals, are dying from intestinal blockages resulting from ingesting the bags.

The scary thing is that for something that impacts so heavily on the environment, the majority of people don’t give plastic bags a second thought. Often they are used only once and thrown out or discarded as litter.

This litter in China has been dubbed white pollution, as it is regularly seen blowing around the streets.

A push to draw the public’s attention to the issue has wielded some positive results - a few years ago it would have been an anomaly to see shoppers carrying home their shopping in cloth bags, but it is happening in China’s capital Beijing.

This is due to recent campaigns such as major supermarkets in Beijing providing their customers with reusable cloth bags, and different regions embracing No Plastic Bag Days.

Other supermarkets in Beijing are opting for degradable plastic bags.

By simply cutting down on the number of bags you use, reusing bags and encouraging your friends, family and colleagues to follow your example, you will be playing an important role in environmental protection in China.

An increasing number of people worldwide are refusing to use plastic bags and opting for alternatives.

People use backpacks and sports bags from home to carry their shopping, as well as environmentally friendly substitutes.

Two such bags are polypropylene bags manufactured from polypropylene gas, a by-product of oil refining, and calico bags made from cotton.

Polypropylene bags have a lifespan of up to three years and can be recycled, and calico bags last for one year. Both can hold more shopping than plastic bags.

The use of plastic bags as bin liners is a common practice in households but does not make good environmental sense as the bags still end up in land fills, taking years to decompose.

More people are choosing to use oxo-biodegradable bin liners. Oxo-biodegradable products have a special additive added in their manufacturing process that reduces the molecular weight of the plastic and gives microbes access to the carbon and hydrogen within.

The material changes from plastic to a food source, with many farmers using oxo-biodegradable plastics as compost.

One of the options being bandied around in Beijing at the moment to help alleviate the problems arising from plastic bags is a plastic bag tax. With the tax aimed at cutting demand for plastic bags and raising money to address pollution caused by them.

If the Ministry of Finance’s feasibility study for the introduction of the tax proves viable, this coupled with further environmental campaigns promoting awareness and education on plastic bags and the government encouraging both retailers and consumers to use environmentally friendly and degradable bags will greatly reduce the negative impacts of plastic bags.

All of the above strategies must be implemented in order for this vast problem to be adequately addressed.

A tax on plastic bags does impact on usage, contrary to some points of view that most people are unwilling to give up the convenience of plastic bags and won’t mind paying for the privilege, Ireland reduced its plastic bag usage by 95 per cent after introducing a 15 per cent levy on plastic bags in 2002.

Raising awareness among retailers and consumers is central to reducing plastic bag litter and saving resources.

So the next time a supermarket attendant or shopkeeper goes to give you a plastic bag for a small item, remember that the bag will long outlive you, and ask yourself if you really want our legacy to future generations to be a big mess to clean up.

We are paying a big price environmentally for the sheer convenience of plastic bags, and when you look at the devastation they are causing to our environment, it’s really not worth it.

In the wake of recently imposed stricter cabin baggage regulations aboard national airlines serving international flights, the Indonesian government hinted similar rules might be imposed on domestic flights, local press said Wednesday.

Airport authorities may impose similar regulations for screening liquids, gels and aerosols for domestic flights.

The Transportation Ministry is now in the process of drawing up a road map for improving security in every sector of the country’s transportation industry, reported English daily The Jakarta Post.

“Security has become as important an issue as safety. Both factors also have to go along with good public services and compliance,” Director General for Air Transportation Budhi Suyitno was quoted as saying.

“First of all, we are going to fix the infrastructure related to security, such as all the X-ray machines in airports.”

Indonesia has followed other countries in limiting the amount of liquids, gels and aerosols passengers can carry onto planes on international flights.

Passengers should not carry more than one liter of liquids, including creams, lotions, oils and beverages. Anything over this amount may be placed into separate baggage or confiscated by security officials.

Each package, bottle or container of liquid substance should not exceed 100 milliliters and needs to fit into a transparent plastic bag. Passengers are limited to one plastic bag.

“Even a regular bottle of spring water can be spiked with chemicals that make an explosion,” Budhi said.

The regulation excludes products categorized as medical drugs, food and drinks for babies and dietary supplements.

Inside the airport, passengers can purchase liquid consumer products at duty free shops but have to show proof of purchase at final screening.

“We ask passengers for international destinations to arrive earlier to the airport, perhaps three hours before departure time because of these rules,” Budhi said.