当前位置: Language Tips> 新闻播报

Zhengzhou residents irate over newsstand ban

中国日报网 2013-04-12 10:39

分享到

 

Get Flash Player

Download

Qi Xin, an employee at an English training company in Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan province, can no longer find anyplace that sells her favorite magazine, Youth Digest.

"I bought every issue of this magazine, but now I can't find a place to buy it," the 26-year-old said.

Qi is one of millions of Zhengzhou residents who is getting behind in their reading because city authorities decided to pull down all newsstands.

The last newsstand, at the intersection of Chengshi Huayuan Road and Hongqi Street, was torn down on April 2.

In April 2012, the Zhengzhou government decided to pull down the city's 421 newsstands.

Zhengzhou's urban management bureau, which was in charge of the initiative, claimed at the time that all newsstands were illegal constructions.

Beijing News reported in 2012 that no Zhengzhou newsstand had a license.

It also reported that in 2004, a total of 341 stands were licensed.

"Hearings were not needed for cracking down on illegal constructions," said Han Yongjin, vice-director of the bureau. "Some newsstands extend to the street, occupy public spaces, sell refreshments, and hang posts. All affect urban planning, and should be cracked down," a government notice by the bureau said.

An alternative offered by the government was to move newspaper stands to supermarkets.

However, Qi doesn't like the alternative. "It is so inconvenient for me. I could get change at the stands before, but now I have to walk miles to find a supermarket," she said.

Authorities also claimed that some booths secretly sold pornography magazines.

Fan Yaobang, retired vice-chief planner of the Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning and Design, believes the newsstands could be saved if planned well.

"The booths are convenient for residents. They can grab a newspaper when lining up for a bus, or during a walk after dinner," Fan said, adding that the booths can provide jobs.

"However, it is not OK to put them in the middle of the street, which may cause accidents or increase potential danger risks," he added.

Internet users said the closures will affect the local newspaper and magazine businesses.

However, Nie Guangpeng, director of the circulation department at Henan Daily, said no circulation declines have been noted since the crackdown.

A Zhengzhou resident who gave only his online name, Shan Niufu, has been taking photos of newsstands since the crackdown began.

Officials in some other provincial capitals are also bothered by newsstands. Authorities in Changchun, in Jilin province, and Yinchuan, in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, announced plans in 2011 and 2012 to do something about them.

However, no other provincial capital has banned the stands so far.

Liu Dongwei, chief acting architect at the China Institute of Building Standard Design and Research, said that no other city has banned newspaper booths in China or abroad.

Questions:

1. What city is cracking down on newsstands?

2. How many were in the city?

3. When were they torn down?

Answers:

1. Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan province.

2. 421.

3. The last newsstand was torn down on April 2.

(中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑)

Zhengzhou residents irate over newsstand ban

About the broadcaster:

Zhengzhou residents irate over newsstand ban

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.

 

分享到

中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883561联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。

中国日报网双语新闻

扫描左侧二维码

添加Chinadaily_Mobile
你想看的我们这儿都有!

中国日报双语手机报

点击左侧图标查看订阅方式

中国首份双语手机报
学英语看资讯一个都不能少!

关注和订阅

本文相关阅读
人气排行
热搜词
 
精华栏目
 

阅读

词汇

视听

翻译

口语

合作

 

关于我们 | 联系方式 | 招聘信息

Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版权声明:本网站所刊登的中国日报网英语点津内容,版权属中国日报网所有,未经协议授权,禁止下载使用。 欢迎愿意与本网站合作的单位或个人与我们联系。

电话:8610-84883645

传真:8610-84883500

Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn