Society

Beijing's taxi drivers can usually be relied on to be able to discuss almost any topic. But there's one subject that many of them would rather not talk about, especially here in China: sex.

Fang Junjun, for example, clams up when someone tries to steer a conversation towards his sexual health. "I'm a conservative person," says the 42-year-old who has been driving a taxi for the past two years. "I do not like to talk about it."

The traditional Chinese concept that sex is a taboo, combined with the operations of the taxi industry, has made it difficult for the China Family Planning Association (CFPA) to carry out a project that aims to improve sexual and reproductive health awareness among male taxi drivers here.

But the five-month project, which ended in March, was deemed important enough by the CFPA that the organization pressed on to implement it despite the challenges.

China will raise the retail prices for gasoline by 500 yuan ($76.34) per tonne and diesel by 400 yuan per tonne starting Thursday, the country's top economic planner said on Wednesday.

After the implementation of the increase, which is the second price rise this year, the benchmark retail price of gasoline will be raised by 0.37 yuan per liter and diesel by 0.34 yuan per liter, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said.

Due to rising international crude oil prices and mounting domestic inflation pressures, the NDRC has "properly postponed" the timing of the rise in prices and has limited the increase, the statement said.

The former mayor of Zhongshan, a city in south China's Guangdong Province, stood trial Wednesday for insider trading, disclosing inside information and bribery.

Li Qihong, stood trial at Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court along with three other family members including her husband, Lin Yongan, younger brother, Li Qiming, and her younger brother's wife, Lin Xiaoyan.

According to the procurator, in May of 2007, Tan Qingzhong, the president of Zhongshan Public Utilities, planned to inject all his capital into Zhongshan Public Technology Co, Ltd and go public as a whole.

On June 11, 2007, Tan reported the project to the municipal leaders and Li Qihong was put in charge of the project.

China's economy is expected to grow 9.6 percent in 2011 as fixed asset investment remains a key driver, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in an annual report released here on Wednesday.

With inflation pressures building and tightened monetary policy, China's GDP growth was forecast moderate this year, compared with a growth of 10.3 percent in 2010, said the ADB in its 2011 Asian Development Outlook, which expected a growth of 9.2 percent in China in 2012.

The inflation rate, which averaged 3.3 percent in 2010, will pick up to 4.6 percent in 2011, lifted by abundant liquidity and higher food and commodities prices, the ADB said. The bank estimated the inflation will ease back to 4.2 percent in 2012 as commodity prices level off.

Fixed asset investment will remain a key driver of growth, although the expansion rate is set to decelerate slightly from past levels, standing at 22 percent in 2011 and 20 percent in 2012 respectively, due to the winding back of fiscal stimulus measures and tighter monetary policy, the bank said.