10-01-07

日本私营化邮政系统 (Japan Privatizes Postal System)

日本开始邮政系统私营化，并由此产生了全球最大的商业银行。这是重新整顿日本银行领域的努力。

日本邮政星期一拆分为4个公司，分别从事银行、保险、邮递以及邮局管理业务。这些公司将在2017年前独立经营并上市。银行部门拥有4亿个帐户、3万亿美元资产，超过世界任何银行的规模。

日本政府希望这项改革可以增进金融服务行业的竞争。

这项计划是前首相小泉纯一郎2005年提出的改革的结果。

Japan has begun privatizing its postal system, creating the world's largest commercial bank in an effort to reshape the country's banking sector.

Japan Post is being split Monday into four companies that will run its banking and insurance operations, handle mail delivery and manage post offices. The companies will be made independent by 2017, and listed on the stock exchange. The banking unit has 400 million accounts and three trillion dollars in assets - more than any other bank in the world.

The government hopes the reform will increase competition in the financial services sector.

The plan is the result of reforms initiated in 2005 by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. 

澳门示威群众抗议非法劳工和腐败 (Macau Demonstrators Protest Illegal Workers, Corruption)

澳门将近1000人举行了示威游行，抗议政府腐败和在澳门繁荣的赌博业中谋生的非法移民。

示威者说，他们并没有从新一波注入澳门赌博业的外国投资中获得任何好处，因为非法移民占走了工作机会。示威者指控政府腐败，因为政府没能加以制止这种状况。

抗议者在星期一中国国庆节的时候举行示威。游行在和平的气氛下进行，但是防暴警察仍然手持警棍和盾牌在旁边警戒，以防爆发类似今年五一期间曾经发生的动乱事件。

公众抗议事件在基本自治的澳门很少发生。澳门在葡萄牙殖民统治400多年之后，于1999年回归中国大陆。

Nearly one-thousand people in Macau have demonstrated against government corruption and illegal immigrant workers in the city's booming casino industry.

The demonstrators say they are not benefitting from the flood of new foreign investment in Macau's gaming industry because jobs are going to illegal workers. The protesters blame government corruption for the authorities' failure to stop the practice.

Monday's march marking China's National Day was peaceful. But riot police with shields and batons were standing by in case there was a repeat of the disturbance that broke out in a May Day protest earlier this year. 

Public protests in the largely autonomous southern Chinese territory are rare. Macau returned to Chinese authority in 1999 after 400 years of Portuguese colonial rule.