CSG news update -- 2006-06-01

[China Study Group <chinastudygroup@gmail.com>]

China Study Group news update

Welcome to Shangri-la
http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,1787133,00.html
The Guardian | 2006-06-01
Jonathan Watts
Flashing red neon tubes light up the way to the karaoke bar in Shangri-la's Paradise hotel, where guests are invited to buy the company of hostesses: 100 yuan (£7) to sing for an hour, 200 yuan for a shared dance.  Five minutes further on is the Shangri-la "Old Town", built from scratch in th...

Pollution killing river they said was too big to poison
http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,1786381,00.html
The Guardian | 2006-05-31
Jonathan Watts
China's biggest river, the Yangtze, is being poisoned by pollution, the state media reported yesterday in an unusually outspoken call for an environmental clean-up. Amid growing concern that economic development is inflicting an unsustainable toll on China's ecology, the Xinhua news agency q...

China's Shenzhen to lift minimum wage by 20%
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/2348c8f6-f094-11da-9338-0000779e2340.html
Financial Times | 2006-05-31
Tom Mitchell
Shenzhen will raise its mandatory minimum wage by as much as 20 per cent with effect from next month, in a move that is likely to be followed by other cities in China's Pearl River Delta manufacturing heartland.  In an announcement posted on its website, the city's labour bureau said the m...

China banks 'vulnerable' to slowdown
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/19f06a0a-f028-11da-b80e-0000779e2340.html
Financial Times | 2006-05-30
Mure Dickie
Unfunded losses on the books of Chinese banks amount to a relatively manageable $220bn (€184bn, £127bn), but poor risk management practices mean lenders remain "acutely vulnerable" to any slowdown in economic growth, Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday.  The Fitch report highlights concerns about a p...