TheSZWeb | Shenzhen News and Commentary

This week a small crowd of animal rights protesters, including Miss Shenzhen Gao Hai Yun, invaded the Fangji Cat Meatball Restaurant in Buji, Shenzhen.

Some cats were freed.

The restaurant owner said he was shutting down, but defended having cat on the menu, stating that eating it is a Guangdong tradition. Chinese news agencies quote the statistic / estimate that in the winter months (the best time for dog and cat meat) in the city of Guangzhou alone, 10,000 cats are eaten… every day

So, basically, what is all the fuss about?

• In the first half of 2006, Shenzhen residents’ average per capita disposable income increased to 10,015 RMB, up 9% from last year.
• During the same period, consumer goods shopping grossed 67,230,000,000 RMB upi 14.4 % from last year.
• In the same period fixed asset investment increased 13.2%
• New industrial investment added a further 99,500,000,000 to the Shenzhen’s economy, up ‘only’… 16.2%…
• In this period of 2006 foreign trade investment has increased 36.1% with export totals up almost 40%.

Statistics in China trustworthy? Well, if things are going up in the figures we believe it may be because the stats are more and more accurately reflecting reality. Shenzhen is booming - feel it!
(or is that just the pneumatic drill outside building another office block?)

• There are over 800,000 registered private vehicles inside Shenzhen
• This number is increasing by over 6,000 cars a month.
• Motorcycles aren’t allowed in Shenzhen.
• The average number of cars per 100 households was 21.5 in 2004.

If you thought the traffic in Shenzhen was bad, just wait for a couple more years. But at least there won’t be any more public minibuses, or so the government has announced about 200 times in the last 5 years with no changes whatsoever…

Breath tests for drink drivers are something of a rarity in Shenzhen. After all, how do you tell the difference between a drunk driver and a normal driver? They both drive like suicidal maniacs.

Being caught for drink driving in Shenzhen carries a 500 RMB fine and suspension of your licence for a month.

The Centaline Group predicted this month (June 2006) that residential house prices across China are set to drop 10-15% by mid-August thanks to government market-cooling policies. Home owners will love that one!

In the first half of 2006, apartment sales were down almost 20% compared to the same period in 2005, with ‘only’ 3.5 million sq m changing hands.

Meanwhile, the Development Research Center of the State Council predicts an overall 5% rise in property prices China-wide. 2006 is likely to see around a 20% growth in property development investment…

53% (over 4000 hectares) of the land bought in Beijing between 2002 and 2005 stands undeveloped. Can anyone detect a “stockpiling” strategy here by the Chinese real estate speculators?