The country's three telecom carriers announced on Thursday that they will scrap domestic long-distance and roaming charges from Sept 1, a month ahead of the deadline set by the State Council. The three carriers are China Mobile Communications Corp, China United Network Communications Group Co and China Telecommunications Corp. Yang Jie, chairman of China Telecom, said the move would benefit more than 80 million of its users and further boost the intelligent terminal market. The telecom giant said it had invested 100 billion yuan ($14.84 billion) in network construction this year to enhance network speed, aiming to help both individual users and small and medium-sized companies benefit from faster internet access. Meanwhile, China Unicom and China Mobile had also announced they would cancel domestic long-distance and roaming fees from Sept 1. Fu Liang, an independent telecom analyst, said the influence on telecom carriers would be limited as they have already put forward various types of 4G packages for subscribers to stimulate data consumption, shifting from voice call services. The removal of domestic roaming fees will push telecom carriers to improve their products and services, as well as seek new sources of growth and cultivate emerging businesses, said Xiang Ligang, a telecom expert. Premier Li Keqiang announced on March 5 the cancellation of the years-long practice of charging for long-distance calls and domestic roaming fees, as part of government's move to build a stronger internet industry. At a policy briefing of the State Council Information Office on March 6, China's top three telecom companies announced that they would cancel charges on domestic long-distance mobile phone calls and roaming starting on Oct 1 this year. Chinese telecom carriers collect domestic roaming fees when the subscribers leave their local service area. These range from 0.6 yuan to 0.8 yuan per minute depending on the packages they have signed up to. Although roaming charges are subject to wide criticism, they remain an important source of revenue for China's three telecom heavyweights, accounting for nearly 10 percent of their net profits. Wu Xiaobo contributed to this story. (China Daily 07/28/2017 page13) customize your own braceletjordan wristband rubberpaper wristbandsprintable wristbands202mm to inches
Three panda keepers bitten by two bears were reprimanded after an online outcry over their rough handling of the normally docile animals at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province, according to a base official. The keepers - two men and a woman who graduated from college last year - had tried to prevent the two pandas from leaving their den because a routine examination was scheduled for the next day. They promised to perform better after the reprimand from senior managers at the base, the official said. On July 12, a netizen posted a video clip showing the three keepers repeatedly throwing the two pandas back into their den, and pushing and pulling the animals to prevent them from leaving with two other bears. Many online viewers were astonished to see the pandas being thrown to the ground in their den and criticized the keepers. The video clip was taken from a live broadcast - a joint effort of the base and Sichuan Radio and Television Station. The station installed video cameras in several parts of the base to provide 24-hour live broadcasts of the bears, said the official, who asked not to be identified. The netizen did not post the portion of video showing the three keepers being bitten. At around 6 pm on July 12, the keepers fed four pandas in the den. To prepare for the examination, the keepers needed to take away the two bears that would not be examined, leaving only the two that would be checked. But the two pandas to be examined also wanted to leave the den and bit the keepers, who were trying to stop them. To prevent the bears from hurting them again and escaping, the three keepers reacted improperly, the official said. Guo Jingpeng, one of the keepers, showed two holes in his middle finger when he was interviewed by reporters in Chengdu on Thursday. The wounds were from panda bites, he said. Wild by nature, captive pandas can occasionally be fierce, said Zhou Mengqi, a photographer in Chengdu who has documented pandas since 1989. Zhou said that long ago the animals were carnivores. Gradually, as their environment changed, so did their diet. Now they eat only bamboo. In June 1992, when Zhou was photographing a panda eating bamboo outside its den at the Chengdu base, the animal chased him away and bit his trousers, he said.
