Shosholoza Shanghai

Voting in Shanghai

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has released the following official media statement, quoted hereunder.

QUOTE

MEDIA RELEASE

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT RULING ON OVERSEAS VOTING

The Constitutional Court this morning delivered judgements in various cases concerning voting by citizens finding themselves outside the country on Election Day.

As we understand, the outcome can be summarised as follows:

1. All South Africans, registered on the voters’ roll, who will be outside the country on Election Day and therefore unable to vote at the voting stations where they are registered, will be able to vote by special vote. They will be able to vote by special vote on 15 April 2009 at any South African Embassy, High Commission or Consulate outside South Africa.

2. These voters must notify the Chief Electoral Officer on or before 27 March 2009 of their intention to do so and at the same time indicate at which Embassy, High Commission or Consulate they want to vote on 15 April 2009.

3. South Africans who will be outside the country on 22 April, but want to vote at their voting station on 20 or 21 April 2009 must notify the Chief Electoral Officer on or before 27 March 2009 of their intention to do so. They will vote at the office of the Presiding Officer which will be located at or near their voting station.

The Electoral Commission is satisfied that it will be able to manage the extended special voting process successfully. The fact that only registered voters will be able to utilise the 15-day period of application for special votes as decided by the Court is within the IEC’s operational ability. We appeal to all South Africans affected by this ruling to immediately utilise this opportunity to notify the Chief Electoral Officer of their intention to vote.

For more information including the downloading of the necessary forms (VEC10), please visit the IEC website on www.elections.org.za. The completed VEC10 forms should be e-mailed to vec10@elections.org.za by 27 March 2009 or faxed to +27 12 428-5566 / +27 12 428-5279 or mailed to Attention: Chief Electoral Officer, Electoral Commission, P O Box 7943, Pretoria, 0001 or hand delivered to Attention: Chief Electoral Officer, Election House, 260 Walker Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria.

ISSUED BY THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION
Pretoria
12 March 2009

For media enquiries please contact Kate Bapela on +27 82 600 6386

END QUOTE

Please take note of the following information regarding the the upco
ming election and special voting abroad:

voting will be at South African diplomatic and consular missions abroad;

no voting will occur at offices of Honorary Consuls;

special voting abroad will be on the 15th of April 2009 only;

voting is scheduled to take place from 07:00 to 19:00

In order to vote, you need to present both the bar-coded identity document (or valid temporary identity certificate) and (South African) passport to the South African Diplomatic or Consular Mission.

Neither the Department nor missions are in a position to answer technical questions relating to the forthcoming election and all enquiries are to be directed to the IEC.

Contact information of the IEC:
E-mail : iec@elections.org.za
Website : www.elections.org.za

Further information will be distributed in due course.

posted on March 21st, 2009 under Uncategorized | Leave a Response

My Wonderful Ayi, Shuqin

Probably the best part of my adventure in Shanghai was found in my own home, in the person of my ayi, ShuiQin.

I would like to recommend her to a family looking to employ an ayi.

ShuiQin is hard working, reliable, honest, loyal, respectful, experienced and caring. She takes care of all the household chores like cleaning, cooking, laundry, ironing and shopping efficiently. ShuiQin can cook both Western and Chinese dishes, and she also bakes well. She has supervised repair people, shopped frugally, and effected two apartment moves on her own.

ShuiQin has taken excellent care of my old dog, Jessica, who has never complained about being left with her when I have been away on vacation. She even took Jessica to the vet on her own when an emergency arose over the Christmas vacation.

ShuiQin also has experience of taking care of children. One previous employer had a four month old infant, and another employer had a five year old son.

ShuiQin speaks, reads and writes reasonably good English. Just remember to speak slowly. She’s very adept at using a bilingual dictionary.

ShuiQin would like to work in the Pudong area.

ShuiQin is my friend, and the family for whom she works will be blessed to have her in their home. I cannot recommend her highly enough. She has been part of my family for the past year and a half, and I would like to find her a loving, caring family before I leave Shanghai. Please send an e-mail to rene.woodhouse@yahoo.com or phone me on +86-135-0189-3742 if you would like more information or would like to schedule an interview with ShuiQin.

posted on March 21st, 2009 under Uncategorized | Leave a Response

Eleven Fun Things to Do in China this Year

1. Catch a train to Urumqi for the weekend
It is possible! Leave Friday night. Travel across the length of China until the cities become deserts. Arrive 4077km later in Urumqi on Sunday in time for lunch. Fly back to Shanghai that evening

2. Take the Metro Challenge
Visit each one of Shanghai’s 147 metro stations and transverse the far corners of the city on its 9 metro lines. Beat the current time of 10 hours 14 minutes and 42 seconds to set a new record

3. Visit the Ice Festival in Haerbin
Ever wanted to experience life in a freezer for a few days, visit Haerbin for some of the world’s best ice sculptures and a taste of Russian influence in China

4. Highest cocktail bar in the world
Skip the snaking sight-seeing queues up the WFC – the planet’s 3rd highest building and opt for the luxury of the 91st floor cocktail bar instead

5. A Naked Weekend in Moganshan
Experience boutique villas in a hidden bamboo-fronded valley far from Shanghai’s madden crowds. With its South African connection, Naked Retreats is more than a home away from home.

6. Countryside Mountain Biking
There is never a better way to get out of the city than on a Bodhi mountain bike. For well organised biking and hiking excursions and a chance to breathe some fresh country air, you can’t go wrong

7. Skiing in Shanghai
In case there is no repeat of last year’s Spring Festival Snow Storm, visit Shanghai’s indoor 380m ski slope to brush up on your snowboarding and skiing skills.

8. Go Fly a Kite
Buy your eagle-look alike kite in the Yu Gardens and head over to one of Shanghai’s two largest parks – Gonqing Forest Park in Puxi and Binjiang Forest Park in Pudong - for wide open grassy spaces and the perfect place to fly a kite

9. Climb a Bridge
So it is not quite the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but the LuPu bridge is a lot cheaper to climb and is the world’s longest steel arch bridge spanning 550 meters.

10. An Acrobatic Era
Be spell bound and have your heart stopped by Shanghai’s best acrobatic show. It’s great choreography and fantastic stunts make for an enjoyable night out

11. Run the Great Wall Marathon
What better way to experience the Great Wall than devoid of tour groups and trinket sellers than to run a marathon on it with another couple of thousand crazy runners.

posted on February 26th, 2009 under Uncategorized | 1 Comment