June 2009

English Edition

SPECIAL REPORT

One-Year Anniversary of the Sichuan Earthquake

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ECONOMY

Chinese Auto Sales Move into Top Gear

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CULTURE

China Rocks!

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Cover Story P.14

Chinese Enterprises

The Long March to the West

Volume No. 011 June 5, 2009

US$ 3.99 C$ 4.99

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NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

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EDITORIAL

Psychological War behind the Epidemic

Published by China Newsweek Corporation Publisher: Liu Beixian Executive Directors: Liu Beixian, Xu Zhongmin, Chok Jianming Editor-in-chief: Peng Weixiang

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fter having arrived in Shenzhen by ship from Hong Kong, a Japanese citizen, was recently put under medical observation at a nearby hospital after displaying signs of flu symptoms. Seven crew members and 39 passengers were also quarantined. 16 hours later, the alert was cleared.

Due to just one person’s abnormal temperature, over 100 staff from Shenzhen’s various government agencies including customs, disease control and numerous healthcare departments, were each required to work for 1,000 minutes.

Take 100 staff members, working for 1,000 minutes, multiply by the average labor cost of each minute in Shenzhen, add the cost of relevant fuels, medicines and facilities, and you have an idea of the true costs involved in preventing the potential entry of the A/H1N1 flu virus into Shenzhen.

Actually, it is not just Shenzhen. Throughout China a powerful defense line has been built to prevent the possible entry of the A/H1N1 flu virus. This defense line has come at a huge economic and social cost and reflects the general attitude of the Chinese government – to fight the A/H1N1 flu with the highest level of alert.

However, such a high-level alert has sparked controversy abroad. The tightening of medical inspections and quarantine measures will inevitably undermine personal freedom, and it remains a great challenge for countries throughout the world to find a balance between the two. Before criticizing China, one has to fully understand the psychology of the Chinese in the face of a major public health crisis, and the logic behind it.

Six years ago in 2003, an outbreak of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus resulted in a total of 5,327 confirmed cases and 349 deaths in the Chinese mainland. From the SARS crisis, China has learned a painful lesson, whilst also drawing valuable experience. With a huge population, China is aware that the wide spread of any epidemic will result in huge costs.

With such vulnerability, China has to take great 4

care in dealing with the current A/H1N1 flu crisis. If China is secure, it will mean 1/5 of the world’s total population is secure, and that also means that the security of the rest 4/5 of the world’s total population is greatly enhanced. If ultimately China fails to control the epidemic, those who have criticized China’s strict inspection measures may in turn find themselves criticizing China’s competence.

Within China, criticism of the government’s strict inspection and quarantine measures has been limited. On the contrary, after the first two cases of A/H1N1 were confirmed, many criticized the government for not taking stricter measures earlier. For many Chinese, it is hard to understand why the US has tackled the epidemic in such a slack and casual manner. China’s most popular gateway website, sina.com, has been dominated by news regarding the A/ H1N1 crisis. Comparatively speaking, coverage of the epidemic in the American media has been rather limited. On the New York Times website, there was not a single front page news entry regarding the epidemic on May 18, leading some Chinese media outlets to criticize the American media for not treating the worldwide public health crisis with more seriousness.

At the time of writing, there had been 4 confirmed A/H1N1 cases and one suspected case reported on the Chinese mainland, with all of patients having recently returned from North America. In response to the confirmed cases, some overseas Chinese students have suggested, “Postponing their trips back home for the sake of the homeland and the Chinese people,” which has since drawn an overwhelmingly positive response from netizens, especially the younger generation. The intention of such a proposal is benevolent and respectable. Other than a comprehensive disease control system and strict inspection measures, the key factor of fighting this epidemic is a sense of civic duty.

But such a sense has to be voluntary. Whether to postpone or cancel one’s trip back home should be an entirely voluntary decision.

Editorial Office Chief Editor: Liu Wanyuan Advisor: Liu Dizhong Senior Editor: Yang Yi Copy Editors: Stephen George, Chris Gauthier Editors: Shao Xinfang, Wang Yan, Yu Xiaodong, Chen Dongyi First Reader: Julian Fisher Address: 5th Floor, 12 Baiwanzhuang South Street, Xi Cheng District, Beijing, China PO Box: 100037 Tel: 86-10-88395566 Fax: 86-10-88388045 Email: readers@newschinamag.com http://www.newschinamag.com Art Department Chief Art Designer: Fa Man Advisor: Wang Min Photo Director: Zuo Weiwei Art Director: Xu Jie Photo Editor: Chen Jundan Art Editors: Li Li, Tian Hao Assistant Art Editors: Li Hui, Gao Ying, Liu Jie Marketing Office China Newsweek Corporation President : Peng Weixiang Chief Executive : Fred Teng Tel: 1-212-481-2510 Fax: 1-212-481-2503 Address: Suite 801, 15 East 40th Street, New York, NY 10016, USA Email: readers@newschinamag.com Vancouver Office Director: Lu Zhenya Address: 6326 Vivian St., Vancouver V5S 2S7, Canada Tel: 1-604-435-5180 Fax: 1-604-435-5140 Email: canada@newschinamag.com Marketing Director for China: Song Wensheng Tel: 86-10-88395566 ext 195 Marketing Promoter for the USA: Deng Yue Tel: 1-212-481-2510 New York Office: Jing Xiaolin Washington Office: Qiu Jiangbo Los Angles Office: Zhang Wei London Office: Li Peng Tokyo Office: Zhu Yanhua Sydney Office: Wang Jinchang Paris Office: Wu Weizhong Bangkok Office: Gu Shihong Kuala Lumpur Office: Zhao Shengyu Moscow Office: Tian Bing Legal Advisor: Allen Wu ISSN 1943-1902

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

Chinese Enterprises: The Long March to the West China is more experienced and financially capable of making investments in overseas markets than a decade ago, while the ongoing economic crisis means there is more opportunity than before.

EDITORIAL

02 Psychological War behind the Epidemic

SPECIAL REPORT

TOP EVENT 10 Flu Disturbance in China

30 Rebuilding Lives in the Wake of Catastrophe A New County of Beichuan / The Burden of Being a Leader / Newborns Bring Hope / The Incurable Wounds

international

ECONOMY

ENVIRONMENT

COVER STORY

14 Chinese Enterprises: The Long March to the West Upping the Stakes: Chinalco’s Deal with Rio Tinto / China Investment Corporation: Charting a Voyage through Troubled Waters / Two Trillion Ways to Spend a Fortune

POLITICS

24 The 60th Anniversary of the Chinese Navy Manpower Counts — Interview with Retired Navy Admiral Yang Huaiqing

SOCIETY

26 The Curious Case of Adult Babies

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

40 Obama’s War

42 Chinese Auto Sales Move into Top Gear 44 Private Investment Encouraged in the Publishing Industry

COLUMN

62 A Step Forward in Safeguarding Human Rights 63 The Economic Straightjacket

TRAVEL 64 Wuyuan: Hometown of Ancient Scholars

ESSAY 70 The Green Long March / Orchestra Off Key 04 06 68 72

MEDIA FOCUS NEWS BRIEF HOT PICKS ENTERTAINMENT

46 Farewell, My Ice-bound Homeland

CULTURE

50 Confucius to Become a Global Sage?

52 How Great is the Great Wall?

54 English Voices in Chinese TV 56 Nanjing: Resistance and Redemption 59 China Rocks!

Corrections for the May Issue The President of Google China is Kai-Fu Lee, not Kaifu Li (Committee of 100, Page 48), nor are Chen-Ning Yang and Steve Chu members of C-100 (Committee of 100, Page 48).

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MEDIA FOCUS

Oriental Outlook

News China (Chinese Edition)

May 18, 2009

April 28, 2009

Retirement Fund Burden

Liberalizing Doctors

A Necessary Turnaround

Qualified doctors in China will soon be allowed to practice in community and private clinics while still keeping their posts at big hospitals, according to the country’s newly unveiled health care reform. In the past, medical resources have been unevenly distributed throughout the country, with high-quality resources, including doctors, who are often regarded as a medical facility’s core asset, concentrated in prestigious hospitals in big cities. Most doctors, however, work long hours and are very modestly paid. Due to the meager pay, doctors have been known to prescribe expensive medicine to patients in order to earn bonuses from the hospital. This, however, has resulted in widespread public resentment. This practice is likely to stop now that doctors are free agents. However, the move will require an increase in government funding.

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China Economic Weekly May 18, 2009

China added 32 high resource consuming cities this year to the list of 12 in 2008, in a bid to promote sustainable economic development in cities where natural resources have been excessively explored. With the government prepared to grant more fiscal support to these cities, a number of cities have been competing for the entry onto the list. While revealing the list, the State Council declared its intention not to add new ones in the near future, preferring instead to concentrate on the existing list. In 2001, Fuxin in Liaoning Province was designated as the country’s only city to pilot the city sustainability. However, its position was still marginalized due to its meager GDP contribution (2 percent in 2008) to Liaoning. It is believed that city officials need to develop a more comprehensive and balanced development plan in order for the pilot to work more successfully.

Xinmin Weekly

April 27, 2009

In China, universities are defined as public institutions.

Yet, while the retirement salaries for civil servants and enterprise employees have been lifted, universities are still waiting for policy guidance and struggling to collect retirement funds.

Nanjing University, one of the top universities in China that has 2,500 retired faculty members, can only receive 13,400 yuan (US$1,960) from the State in retirement funds for each retired teacher per year. This means the university has to raise an additional US$10.26 million in order to supplement the retirement fund. This year’s government report delivered at the annual National People’s Congress (NPC) has called for acceleration in the reform of public institutions.

Global Weekly May 14, 2009

Chinese Culture at the Crossroads

China’s Most Expensive Car License Plate Shanghai is the only city in China that currently sells license plates to private car owners via auction. The aim of this auction process is to control the increase of new cars and reduce urban traffic. The average auctioned sale price in April was 28,724 yuan (US$4,207).

Incomplete statistics show that 60 percent of the non-Shanghairegistered vehicles running in Shanghai are actually owned by Shanghai residents, as license plates in other neighboring cities cost only a fraction of the price. The local government admits the auction system is only a makeshift measure, but has yet to come up with a fundamental solution. Optimists hope the auction system will end in 2012.

China’s cultural influence is ranked seventh globally, according to a China Modernization report, lagging behind its economic position. Peking Opera performance has often been taken as a symbol of China’s classic culture. In March, the epic-styled Peking Opera “Chi Bi” debuted on eight huge screens in Times Square, kicking off its international tour. Observers hold that China needs to present more of its traditional art, and attach brand value to cultural products to resonate with an overseas audience.

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

MEDIA FOCUS

New Weekly

News Magazine

May 21, 2009

April 16, 2009

April 27, 2009

Authoritative Experts Victimized China Education Expert Association (CEEA), which claimed to be an “authoritative” organization under governmental departments, was recently found to be an illegal organization. Victims include a number of schools and training centers who have paid membership fees, and also retired senior educational officials and educational experts that participated in activities sponsored by CEEA. While not being blamed for their part in the scam, retired education officials and teachers have been urged to be more careful in the future when contacted by similar organizations.

International Herald Leader April 27, 2009

Challenges in the PostThree Gorges Era

The True Cost of Speeding A traffic accident that resulted in the death of a pedestrian on May 7, in Hangzhou, the capital of the Zhejiang Province, has sparked a public outcry after witnesses appeared to contradict the official police report. The driver and victim, both in their twenties, have since become the focus of significant media coverage. The initial police report claimed that the driver was traveling at a speed of 70 km/h. Witnesses, however, claimed the speed of the collision caused the pedestrian to be hit up to 20 meters away from the site of the crash. Some people have since claimed the police’s handling of the incident has been influenced by the young driver’s wealthy family background. On May 14, further investigations judged the speed at 84.1-101.2 km/h, and the driver was subsequently arrested.

Southern Metropolis Weekly

May 15, 2009

Wang Zhihe Wins Trademark Case in Germany In late April, Wang Zhihe, a centennial Chinese food brand finally won a landmark lawsuit against German food company Okai over trademark infringement. The case marks the first success of China’s old and famous brands to safeguard their legal rights in overseas markets. Compared with foreign competitors, Chinese enterprises have a low awareness of IPR protection and they are less willing to enter into foreign legal courts. Okai also pirated other Chinese brands.

However, these brands have yet to declare an intention to pursue the case in court.

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

Caijing Magazine

Social Networking at Work 2008 saw a boom in the growth of Social Networking Services (SNS) in China, with sites such as kaixin.com and xiaonei.com leading the market. However, some office staff have become addicted to these SNS websites, spending on average two hours a day during working hours surfing the sites. In a response to the loss of productivity, over 300 enterprises have joined an alliance requiring that their employees no longer log onto SNS websites during office hours. Some employees in Guangdong have been sacked due to their persistent use of SNS. While some are quitting SNS, newcomers continue to sign up to the sites. It is likely, however, that like all Internet phenomena, the number of SNS users will eventually peak before leveling off.

While the Three Gorges Dam project is nearing its completion, a number of accompanying problems, such as local resettlement, environmental protection, geologic hazards and revenue distribution are once again rising to public attention.

The Chongqing Municipality and Hubei Province estimated a capital requirement of 162.8 billion yuan (US$23.86 billion) would be needed to complete the remaining work, far higher than the 98.9 billion yuan (US$14.5 billion) projected by the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission in March 2008. The two local governments have been lobbying for the continuation of some preferential policies to the region that may end this year. On top of that, coordination has been urged among the multiple government bodies that have responsibility for the Three Gorges project, so that decisions take into account overall benefits rather than single organizational or regional benefits.

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NEWS BRIEF

New Diplomat Obama Names Huntsman as Ambassador to China

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he US President Barack Obama has nominated Utah’s Republican Governor Jon Huntsman as the U.S. ambassador to China. The selection follows through on Obama’s pledge to seek bipartisan cooperation. Huntsman, 49, who speaks Mandarin Chinese, was ambassador to Singapore under former President George H.W. Bush and served as deputy U.S. trade representative under George W. Bush. Huntsman’s nomination is subject to approval by the Senate, and both Republicans and Democrats alike have expressed support.

Sino-EU Relationship

second largest trading partner.

EU-China High-level Dialogue Held

Vessel Confrontation

On May 7-8, senior officials from the European Union and China held a two-day dialogue on economic and trade relations.

10 EU commissioners and 12 Chinese ministers and vice ministers, including EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, were brought together to cover a series of topics, including trade, investment, product safety and intellectual property rights. It was the second time that EU and China have held a high-level economic and trade dialogue.

The first one was in Beijing in April 2008.

The EU is China’s largest trading partner and technology supplier. China is the EU’s

Maritime Discord In early May, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman confirmed reports that the US surveillance ship, the USNS Victorious, was involved in a confrontation with Chinese fishing vessels in the Yellow Sea. The incident was the fifth of its kind within the past two months, unnamed US defense officials told Associated Press. While the US insisted that the ship was conducting “routine activities” in international waters, China has since argued that the activity conducted in China’s exclusive economic zone violated international and Chinese laws. On May 13, a

(IC Photo)

Chinese senior military source said that the Chinese and US navies were seeking ways to “alleviate disagreements” over international law on maritime rights.

Golden Brick Deal China and Brazil Sign Oil Deal On May 19, China agreed to lend US$10 billion to Brazil’s State-owned oil giant in exchange for a guaranteed oil supply from Brazil over the next decade. Brazil’s Petrobras and Sinopec, China’s largest refiner, agreed that the former will supply 150,000 barrels of crude oil a day to China this year and 200,000 barrels per day for nine years from 2010. China already finalized a similar agreement with Russia in April that will see Russia supply oil to China for 20 years in exchange for loans to its state firms. A ceremony was held at the Great Hall of the People, attended by President Hu Jintao and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Along with this deal, other agreements ranging from equipment, financing, science and space exploration to agricultural products were also signed.

National Census 6th Population Census in 2010

A meeting between Wen Jiabao ad EU leaders. (Photo by Petr David Josek/AP)

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On May 6, China’s State Council announced plans to conduct it’s sixth national population census in 2010. The census, which is expected to begin on November 1, 2010, will survey the Chinese population, age, nationality, levels of education, profession, and population migration. The NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

NEWS BRIEF census will also collect data on marriage, housing, and social security of Chinese citizens, according to a notice posted on the central government’s official website (www.gov.cn). China’s last census nine years ago found there were 1.29533 billion people in China.

Earthquake Anniversary Official Student Death Toll On May 7, local authorities released the first official figures detailing the number of students killed in last year’s Sichuan earthquake. The figures show a total of 5,335 students died or remain unaccounted for, while a further 546 were disabled. According to Sichuan Province Education Chief Tu Wentao, the number was calculated on the basis of applications received from families of dead or missing students for State compensation and relief funds. During the 8-magnitude quake, 11,687 schools were destroyed or damaged. No detailed list of the names of the dead or missing students has yet been released.

Disaster Relief First Disaster Relief White Paper Issued On May 11, China published its first white paper on disaster relief to mark the first anniversary of the Sichuan Earthquake, in which 87,000 people died or remain unaccounted for. The paper highlights the disaster relief efforts already un-

dertaken, as well as the way China plans to manage future disasters. According to Zou Ming, director of the disaster relief department under the civil affairs ministry, China will adopt a new system to calculate damages and loss in disasters from June 1 and train local officials to collect such data. China has also amended its state-level contingency plan for natural disaster relief and ordered local governments, rural and urban communities to make corresponding plans.

(Photo by Paul J. Richards/AFP )

Healthcare

Face of the Month Paul Krugman: A Controversial Week in China

Traditional Medicine Has a Role to Play China’s State Council pledged in a circular on May 7 that it will incorporate Chinese traditional medicine into the national basic healthcare program. In the circular, it said that traditional medicines will be included in the state basic medicines and traditional medicine hospitals will be in the list of designated hospitals under the country’s basic health insurance programs for both rural and urban residents. The centuries-old traditional Chinese medicine, independent from Western medicine, has unique theories and practices such as herbal medicines, acupuncture, massage and dietary therapy. The use of many traditional medicines has been controversial, with some criticizing it for lacking scientific proof, while others argue that it performs well in treating chronic diseases and represents a healthy life style.

(Photo by Liu Zhen) NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

P

aul Krugman, the 56-year-old Nobel Prize winning economist and New York Times columnist made his first visit to China in mid May. During his visit, Krugman gave four lectures in Beijing and Shanghai. On arrival in China, Krugman was greeted with the type of reception usually reserved for pop stars, with some people paying as much as 58,000 yuan ($8,500) for a ticket in the front row. Krugman was involved in discussion with highprofile scholars and officials, expressing his views on Sino-US trade, the world economic downturn and so forth. Many of his views have sparked heated discussion nationwide.

The debates have mainly centered around Krugman’s comments on China’s huge foreign currency reserve. Contrary to the belief that the United States’ extremely loose monetary policy and Americans’ extravagant spending habits has led to China’s huge trade surplus, Krugman criticized China for its policy of pegging the renminbi to the US dollar, and hinted that China might be taken as a “trouble-maker.” As Chinese economists pointed out that it is the US who prints the US dollars, Krugman rebutted that it is China’s decision to establish its foreign exchange reserves based on US dollars. He pointed out that it’s rare for a developing and comparatively poor country to export so many resources.

When asked to make comments about China’s domestic economy, including the effects of China’s stimulus plan and development of China’s real estate industry, Krugman said frankly that he knew little about what is happening inside of China.

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NEWS BRIEF

What They Say “China is moving from the edge to the center of the world stage. However, we Chinese still have different opinions regarding the question ‘Is China a world power?’ People outside China tend to see powerful aspects of China, while inside China, people are more concerned about its weaknesses and challenges.”

Cnsphoto

- Fu Ying, Chinese ambassador to UK, delivers a speech on China at Oxford University.

“This disrespects the dead, and hurts the feelings of the relatives of the earthquake’s victims.”

- Some Chinese Netizens show their annoyance at a number of earthquake devastated places in Sichuan Province becoming tourist attractions.

“My bottom line is to adhere to the principle of telling no lies.”

- Sun Jungong, spokesman for China’s Supreme People’s Court, opens his own blog with a statement of intent for better communication with the public.

“Opening the prison to the public is not just a show.”

- After a number of detainees’ deaths at detention centers in different parts of the country, law enforcement authorities have opened five prisons for public inspection in the southwestern province of Sichuan. Liu Zuoming, head of the Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Justice, says that the move aims to promote civilized management of prisons and fair law enforcement.

“A lot of people like my performances because I always tell the truth. I’m popular with the audience because of my rudely humorous way of telling the truth. Let time test my art. ” - Chinese comedy actor Zhao Benshan talks about how some people disapprove of his seemingly vulgar style of comedy.

Cnsphoto

“Ordinary Chinese people are living at the center of reality, but Chinese writers are living on the edges of reality. This is because their livelihood is guaranteed by the government and they don’t have to get involved in real life. As a result, they are becoming increasingly self-centric and gloomier. They are out of touch with our times. But some people describe all this as ‘post-modernism’ or ‘deconstructionism.’ They simply don’t know that post-modernism and deconstructionism in Western countries came in the wake of rapid development into a modern civilization and mature society. Our country has yet to become well constructed. How can we set about deconstructing?”

- Chinese writer Lu Tianming lashes out at some Chinese writers’ indifference towards life and their detachment from the real world.

“What was the war [the Japanese aggression of China in the 1930s and 1940s]? It was the culture of another nation dancing on the ruins of ours.”

- Lu Chuan, director of the new movie “City of Life and Death,” about the Nanjing Massacre, says the most shocking scene in the movie is the ritual in which Japanese troops pay homage to their fellow soldiers who died, after the fall of Nanjing on December 13, 1937.

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NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

NEWS BRIEF

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

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TOP EVENT

Flu Disturbance in China

By May 20, there had been nine confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases in China. All of them had originated f rom North America.

By Staff Reporter Wang Yan

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n May 2, the first imported case of the A/H1N1 flu (commonly referred to as swine flu) was confirmed in Hong Kong, stirring up concerns across China that it may soon spread to other parts of the country. This news was then followed by the confirmation on May 11, of another imported case, this time in the south western province of Sichuan, the first confirmed case on China’s mainland.

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By May 20, nine A/H1N1 flu cases have been confirmed within China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan). All of the nine cases were imported from the American Continent.

The First Case on the Mainland Bao Xueyang, a 30-year-old Chinese PHD student at the University of Missouri, left St. Louis to return home on May

7. About 38 hours later, after stopping at St. Paul, Tokyo and Beijing, Bao finally arrived in his hometown of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan.

Bao flew from Beijing to Chengdu on Sichuan Airlines flight 3U8882, the very same day he arrived in Beijing onboard the Northwest Airlines flight NW029. His temperature was normal upon arrival in Beijing.

But he began to show symptoms including a sore throat, coughing, and a stuffy nose on NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

TOP EVENT disinfection.

On the night Bao was hospitalized, medical workers began to evacuate other patients on the same floor to other buildings. Both Bao’s father and his girlfriend, who had close contact with the patient, were put into quarantine for medical observation at the same hospital. Also isolated were a taxi driver who drove Bao and his family to the hospital and 15 Sichuan People’s Hospital medical staff that had also come into close contact with Bao during the initial treatment.

The ‘Manhunt’

Chinese security guards wearing protective masks as a precaution against the A/H1N1 flu virus, guard the entrance of a hotel designated as a quarantine facility for those who have been in contact with the virus. Beijing May 11, 2009.

(Photo by Elizabeth Dalziel/AP)

the flight from Beijing to Chengdu.

Bao went to the Sichuan People’s Hospital directly after getting off the plane, and was diagnosed a suspected case of A/H1N1 flu. He was then transferred to the Chengdu Infectious Disease Hospital where he was finally confirmed as an A/H1N1 flu patient on May 10.

After the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concerns over an outbreak of the flu in Mexico and the United NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

States in April, China’s Ministry of Public Health extended its watch over planes, ships, trains, automobiles and other vehicles entering China from countries affected by the flu virus. Passengers entering China in the wake of the outbreak have been required to fill out health declaration forms so that they could be effectively traced if any A/H1N1 flu cases were found among them. Other measures have included onboard inspection, taking temperatures at customs and luggage

Once the first case on the mainland was confirmed, measures dealing with emergency cases were immediately put into action. In Beijing, the city’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began the process of tracking down the remaining 383 passengers and cabin crew aboard the NW029 and 3U8882 flights.

The health ministry sent an expert team to Chengdu. Li Xingwang, an expert on the prevention and control of infectious diseases, explained that the virus carried by the patient was infectious even before the patient showed any symptoms. “Passengers on the two flights (NW029 and 3U8882) could have been infected, so they all need to be quarantined,” said Li. On May 11, health authorities at all levels across the country began participating in what had now become a “manhunt” for the 383 passengers aboard the two flights. It was soon found out that these passengers were scattered among 21 different provinces.

The Sichuan Provincial CDC clarified that as of 3 pm on May 11, a day after Bao was hospitalized, they had contacted and quarantined 128 out of the 150 passengers aboard the flight 3U8882 from Beijing to Chengdu. Beijing health authorities were also out to track down the 147 passengers, including 106 foreign nationals aboard the Tokyo-Beijing flight NW029.

Mexico’s Complaints Bao was the first confirmed case of A/H1N1 influenza on the Chinese mainland. Ten days before, on May 1, a 25-year-old male Mexican who had taken a China Eastern Airlines flight from Mexico to Hong Kong, 13

TOP EVENT via Shanghai, was confirmed in Hong Kong to be carrying the A/H1N1 flu virus. This man and those who were in close contact with him were put under a week-long quarantine in 19 mainland provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions as well as Hong Kong and Macao.

The strict measures taken by the Chinese government drew complaints from Mexico.

Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa blamed China’s quarantining of Mexican citizens who had shown no symptoms of the virus as discriminatory. Ernesto Cespedes, Mexican consulate general in Guangzhou, also expressed to NewsChina that China’s action was “discriminating against Mexican citizens.”

Xinhua News Agency reported, “China’s flu-prevention measures include bans on pork product imports from countries and areas affected by the A/H1N1 influenza, and suspension of flights from Mexico to Shanghai after the case found in Hong Kong.”

The Ministry of Public Health included influenza A/H1N1 in Category B of infectious diseases (the same category as SARS, HIV and virus hepatitis) listed in the Infectious Diseases Prevention Law. A circular issued by the ministry stated, “The direct contact members to those who have infected with the disease should receive a seven-day quarantine for the purposes of medical observation.”

Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen apologized for the inconvenience caused to nearly 300 guests and staff who were quarantined at the hotel, “We understand your frustration and dissatisfaction that the quarantine may have caused.

But to contain the virus, which we know little about, we need to take determined action as soon as we discover the first case.” The government also assured those quarantined that their visas will be automatically extended, their hotel lodging fees waived and their onward journeys prepared.

According to the latest WHO figures released on May 20, 41 countries have officially reported 10 243 cases of influenza A/ H1N1 infection including 80 deaths.

On May 17, Bao Xueyang recovered from the flu and was discharged from hospital after a seven-day quarantine and treatment.

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From SARS to A/H1N1 China learnt a painful lesson f rom the outbreak of SARS. For the past six years, China’s previously chaotic and inef f icient disease control and prevention system has been subject to a process of significant improvement.

By Staff Reporter Wang Jing

O

n the morning of May 7, an ambulance carrying a “suspected A /H1N1 patient” raced into Beijing Ditan Hospital through its south gate.

On arrival, two medical workers, dressed in full protective gear, rushed to the ambulance where they began the process of transferring the patient into the hospital.

Within one minute, the patient, now inside the hospital, was led by doctors in protective clothing into a special elevator for flu patients and taken directly to the sixth floor.

Fortunately, this was just a drill staged in response to the recent A/H1N1 influenza outbreak in North America. The drill, however, offered evidence of China’s determination to respond effectively to a possible future flu breakout.

Throughout the country, 545 hospitals and 207 first-aid stations have been designated emergency flu centers in the event of a large-scale outbreak. Moreover, similar emergency drills have been carried out in many parts of the country.

A Painful Lesson Memories of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak six years ago are still fresh in the minds of many of those in China. At the time, the disease spread from Guangdong Province to over 37 countries around the world, and in China alone, the virus infected a total of 5,327 people and claimed the lives of 349.

China’s then chaotic and inefficient disease control and prevention system has since been blamed for much of the virus’

subsequent spread.

At beginning of the outbreak, even Beijing Municipal Hospital, one of China’s leading hospitals, was without the necessary special fever clinic required to treat SARS patients. As a consequence, SARS patients were huddled together alongside ordinary patients in the same waiting rooms and wards. “It was under such circumstances that I was infected with SARS,” recalled Beijing resident Luo Xing during an interview with NewsChina.

Luo was later transferred to a specialist infectious disease hospital after doctors became aware of his high temperature. Yet the situation there was little better, chaotic and understaffed, Luo was left for hours unattended lying on his own urine.

In addition, human error acted only to compound the already deteriorating situation. In the face of SARS spreading around Beijing, a number of senior officials attempted to conceal news of the epidemic.

The then Beijing Mayor Meng Xuenong, for example, continued to send out the message that it was “safe to travel to Beijing.”

Later, as SARS threatened to get out of control, Meng, alongside the then Minister of Public Health Zhang Wenkang, was forced to step down.

“All these lessons helped promote the upgrading of China’s disease control and prevention system,” a medical expert observed.

For a long period of time, China followed the former Soviet Union’s model in the management of public health. Based on the planned economy system, such a model demanded everything be put under the government’s control. This highly centralized management of public health NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

TOP EVENT affairs often resulted in a slower response to nationwide emergencies.

In 1998, the operational mechanism of the United States’ Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was introduced into China as a pilot project in Shanghai.

The system worked well, in 2003 there were only a few SARS cases confirmed in Shanghai, whereas in 1988, 300,000 people were infected with hepatitis A during an outbreak in the same city.

In 2000, the CDC system, having got the green light from the Ministry of Public Health, was widely adopted in provinces, cities and counties. In China, CDCs at different levels are responsible for mapping out strategies for disease control and prevention, monitoring public health affairs and sounding early warning in case anything unusual comes up. They also oversee public health emergencies and train medical professionals in this field.

Yet, the individual CDCs had yet to formulate a comprehensive and efficient system, due to missing links in hardware and numerous out-dated ideas.

However, in spite of the nationwide establishment of CDCs, a deep-rooted mentality that “treatment is more important than prevention” persisted. Vice Minister of Public Health Wang Longde commented, “A provincial governor told me that they were totally ignorant about what the CDC was until SARS broke out.”

Preliminary Fruits According to an official from the National Development and Reform Commission, at the end of 2003, China began building a system to deal explicitly with medical treatment during public health emergencies.

A good sum of money was injected into small and medium-sized cities and townships in the vast central and western regions to help upgrade hospitals specializing in infectious diseases and emergency aid centers. The total investment amounted to 11.4 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion), supporting 2,306 projects in three years.

From 2003 through to 2005, the central government allocated 9.2 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) to further beef up the medical treatment system for public NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

health emergencies, the disease information network system, public health law enforcement and supervisory systems and disease control and prevention systems.

In 2006, such investment was further expanded, with 5.1 billion yuan (US$73 million) earmarked for the special use of the public health emergency sector. The Ministry of Public Health announced that China’s disease control and prevention system had been “basically rounded out” by the end of 2006.

As part of the overall system, the epidemic information reporting mechanism has played a significant role. “China has now set up a system for the direct reporting of infectious disease cases, covering 95 percent of the medical institutions at county level and 70 percent at village and township level, while the period in which a case is reported to the highest public health authority has been cut from nearly one week to 0.8 day,” said CDC expert Shao Yiming.

According to Shao, this system can currently process information for 37 declared contagious diseases, including hydrophobia, measles, tetanus and hepatitis A. Meanwhile, the Chinese government has been making efforts to keep the public informed on both the spread of a potential outbreak, as well as preventative measures. On May 9, 2003 a regulation on the emergency measures for unexpected public health incidents was issued. One article in particular specified, “Any work unit or individual should not conceal, delay the report of or give a false report of the real situation of any emergency.”

The Regulations on Government Information Transparency issued in 2008 states that any emergency plan, early-warning information and measures in tackling emergencies should be made public.

“The timely release of the information is vital to the prevention and control of the diseases which needs the involvement of the whole of society,” said Jing Ronghua, spokesman for Beijing You’an Hospital.

“Transparency can prevent people from panicking. There is no room for rumors,” he added.

This notion is supported by a noticeable lack of panic in the wake of the release of official information concerning A/H1N1.

“On the whole, we think the Chinese government has done a good job in coping with A/H1N1 flu, which to a large extent is because China has learned a lot from the outbreak of SARS and bird flu and made many of the right choices.” Hans Troedsson, the World Health Organization’s representative to China recently commented,

Bottlenecks in Development The CDC system in China, however, is far from perfect.

Experts assert that an ideal system should allow the epidemic information to be shared between the CDC, the infectious-disease specialized hospital and the comprehensive hospital, with the former focusing on the prevention and the latter two on treatment.

Chen Haixiao, head of Taizhou Hospital in east China’s Zhejiang Province, pointed out that the roles of these three players should be clearly defined so that they can “respond very quickly to any big epidemic or public health emergencies.”

Nonetheless, more needs to be done in order to build the three-in-one network for disease control, prevention and treatment.

The most acute problem is the shortage of professionals, according to CDC expert Shao Yiming. Many staff members in the forefront of prevention and treatment are not qualified in terms of technical competence.

Shao Yiming also pointed out that another bottleneck is that many institutions in this field are running short on funds, so much so that 50 percent of the wages of the staff members and one third of the working expenditure come from the preventioncontrol institutions’ operations outside their specialties. According to him, even the national CDC, with a staff of 2,000, is so troubled by the shortage of funds that by the end of 2008 its deficit had reached 99 million yuan (US$14 million).

The fund problem may take a turn for the better, taking into consideration that another 5 billion yuan (US$700 million) is to be earmarked by the central government to the field of disease prevention and control.

(Rewritten and translated by staff reporter Shao Xinfang) 15

COVER STORY

Chinese Enterprises

The Long March to the West

Workers are silhouetted as they work at Unocal’s Keystone Natural Gas Storage facility near Kermit, Texas. China’s thirdlargest oil producer CNOOC made a US$18.5 billion bid for U.S. oil company Unocal Corp. on June 23, 2005. (AP Photo/ Unocal, Steve Harris)

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NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

Since the strateg y for Chinese business to “go global” was first mapped out in 1998, Chinese businesses, largely unknown outside of China 10 years ago, have risen to become important players in the overseas market.

The China National Of f shore Oil Corporation’s aborted bid for Unocal, once symptomatic of the problems faced by Chinese businesses overseas, has since been overshadowed by a spate of f oreign purchases, including Chinalco’s yet to be conf irmed bid for an additional stake in Rio Tinto. If successful, the Rio Tinto bid will represent the largest ever Chinese investment in a foreign company.

Admittedly, China is more experienced and financially capable of making investment in overseas markets than a decade ago, while the ongoing economic crisis means there is more opportunity than before.

Externally, Chinese enterprises are urged to shed the stereotyped image that China’s overseas investment is manipulated by political interests rather than driven by business purposes. And domestically, higher expectations have been placed on them to preserve and increase the value of the country’s US$2 trillion foreign exchange reserve.

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

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COVER STORY

Upping the Stakes: Chinalco’s Deal with Rio Tinto Plans by Chinalco, China’s largest producer of primary aluminum, to purchase an 18 percent stake, and up to 50 percent of key mining assets in Australian Mining Corporation Rio Tinto, is facing mounting opposition due to concerns following a spate of Chinese firms’ acquisitions of mining resources in Australia. The deal, the biggest investment ever made by a Chinese company, now hinges on the decision of the Australian government.

By Staff Reporter Chen Dongyi

A

s the deadline for Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) to announce its review outcome for the pending acquisition deal between the Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) and the Rio Tinto Group fast approaches, analysts have been left wondering whether the Chinese mining giant will finally get the green light to go ahead with what would become the largest ever overseas investment by a Chinese company.

“We will not comment on the pending case or the earlier acquisition in February last year,” said Zhao Zhengang, director of Chinalco’s overseas operation department, during a recent interview with NewsChina, adding, “I can only tell you more details about the two rounds of negotiations once the deal has concluded.”

Such discretion is an indication of the magnitude of the deal, not only in size, but in the sensitivity it arouses. The deal, however, is not the first of its kind to be the subject of both business and political considerations.

In March of this year, the Australian government approved China’s Hunan Valin Iron & Steel Group’s acquisition request for a 17.55 percent stake in Australian mining producer Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. Similar to Chinalco, whose acquisition deal was extended by 90 days while subject to review, Valin’s acquisition was extended by 30 days before being approved. By contrast, China Minmetals’ full acquisition request for Australian company OZ Minerals was denied on national security grounds in March. A revised acquisition proposal, which excluded Prominent Hill, a copper 18

and gold mine located close to Australian military areas, was then approved in April.

The Chinalco case was made more complex, however, when in February, the then president of Chinalco, Xiao Yaqing, was transferred and appointed vice secretary-general of the State Council, or China’s cabinet.

Meanwhile, Chinalco veteran, Xiong Weiping (a vice president of Chinalco between 2004-2006), was named Xiao’s successor

from his latest post of general manager of China Travel International Investment HK, the HK-listed arm of the State-owned China International Travel Service.

Quick and Unexpected On February 1 of 2008, Chinalco announced it had acquired a 12 percent stake in UK-listed Rio Tinto plc for US$14 bil-

Alcoa of Australia Chairman Alan Grasberg (L) and Chinalco’s then president Xiao Yaqing (R) answer questions at a press conference in Sydney on February 4, 2008. Chinalco acquired 12 percent of UK-listed Rio Tinto in a joint share raid with partner Aloca Inc. in 2008. (AFP PHOTO/Anoek DE GROOT) NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

COVER STORY lion (translating into 9.3 percent stake in the Rio Tinto Group), marking what was then the largest overseas investment by a Chinese company.

However, according to industrial insiders, Chinalco was to some extent forced to make that acquisition in view of the fact that as early as November 2007, the world’s largest mining corporation BHP Billiton had tabled a move to acquire Rio Tinto through a share swap at 3 BHP Billiton shares per Rio Tinto share. Most analysts agreed that such a merger (Rio Tinto and BHP have a combined market share of nearly 40 percent of the global iron ore shipment) would put China at a disadvantage in regard to negotiating for annual iron ore prices.

Established in 2001, Chinalco has quickly risen to become a leading global diversified resources company, expanding its business from aluminum to copper, titanium and other metals.

On the night of January 31, 2008, Chi-

nalco bought a 12 percent share of Rio Tinto plc at about US$90 per share for US$14.05 billion on the Over-the-Counter (OTC) market through Shining Prospect Pte. Ltd, a wholly-funded subsidiary of Chinalco in Singapore.

On February 6, BHP Billiton formally announced its intention to acquire Rio Tinto. Though the consideration was higher at 3.4 BHP Billiton shares per Rio Tinto share, Rio Tinto board members unanimously voted against the offer once again. Later, on November 25, 2008, BHP Billiton withdrew the acquisition offer.

The share price of Rio Tinto plc dropped sharply by 37 percent to close at US$23.6 the next day.

The share price of Rio Tinto plc has since rebounded from its bottom of less than US$15.2 to near US$45.6. As for the face value loss of Chinalco’s investment in Rio Tinto, Chinalco seemed fully prepared for that. Xiao Yaqing revealed in an interview, “I am not afraid to be challenged by the loss of share value. Share price is just a symbol, but what we buy are real assets.”

A Further Step The global economic crisis gives more opportunity for Chinese companies to buy cheap assets on the overseas market.

Chinalco once again set a new record by announcing on February 12 this year, that Chinalco will invest US$19.5 billion in cash in Rio Tinto, including US$12.3 billion in certain aluminum, copper and iron ore joint ventures and US$7.2 billion in convertible bonds. If converted, Chinalco would hold an 18 percent interest in the Rio Tinto Group.

Chen Fengying, a researcher from the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told NewsChina that without the current economic crisis and Rio Tinto’s debt, it would be significantly harder for Chinalco to increase its stake.

At present, Rio Tinto is in debt by nearly US$40 billion, of which US$8.9 billion will mature by October this year. Rio Tinto’s former board chairman Paul Skinner has welcomed Chinalco’s cash investment of US$19.5 billion. While Paul Skinner’s successor, the newly elected board chairman, Jan du Plessis has also gone on record statNEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

ing that the completion of the Chinalco transaction would be his first priority, despite shareholders in London venting anger over the proposed deal.

Compared with the first acquisition, which is only a stake investment, the current acquisition involves more cooperation on various mining assets, and Chinalco will also nominate two non-executive directors to Rio Tinto’s board, explained Song Xiuli, chief representative of Rio Tinto’s Beijing office, in an interview with NewsChina.

Song also confirmed that Chinalco had already become the largest single shareholder of Rio Tinto after the first acquisition last year.

Yet despite this, Rio Tinto retains responsibility for carrying out the day-to-day management and operation independent of Chinalco, according to the recently signed 19

COVER STORY pioneering strategic partnership agreement.

Acquisition Politicized The proposed acquisition deal has been reviewed and passed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the German competition authority, the Federal Cartel Office, and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

The ACCC concluded that Chinalco’s proposed transaction with Rio Tinto would not be likely to depress global iron ore prices below competitive levels. Song Xiuliu reiterated this position and further noted that as a shareholder of Rio Tinto, Chinalco needs to take into consideration shareholders’ benefits.

Now, the deal is under critical review by the Foreign Investment Review Board of Australia. The agency is facing mounting challenges from the opposition party which claims, in the words of Senator Barnaby Joyce, that Chinese companies with Chinese government backing are “buying into the nexus between the Australian people and the wealth that’s created by our minerals.”

Chen Fengying noted that “national security” is just a superficial excuse. The real concern is China’s fast growing economy and rising national strength.

Michael Wesley, a foreign policy expert at Griffith University, said, “If you have a clear statement of policy and clear sense of where you are going, then you can survive these things (opposing voices). The Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has to make a major statement on China and the region, founded on a very clear analysis of where China is now and where it is going.”

During a speech in February, John Dawkins, Treasurer in the last Labor Government, said that China should never accept the bald, unqualified idea that Australians and the Australian government are opposed to foreign investment. Key acquisitions will be decided on the overall balance of advantage to Australia.

Now many Chinese and Australian businessmen are waiting to see how Wayne Swan, the current Australian Treasurer, will interpret Australia’s national interest in what remains an increasingly complex political and financial environment.

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China Investment Corporation

Charting a Voyage through Troubled Waters Courted by some while vilif ied by others, Chinese investors have elicited a mixed response in overseas markets. Chief among those investing abroad is the government sponsored China Investment Corporation (CIC). With 90 percent of its US$200 billion investment fund still in cash, the question now is: where will it go next?

By Staff Reporter Yu Xiaodong

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

As the Chinese currency gradually appreciates, it has become increasingly costly for China to have such huge assets tied to the US dollar. The People’s Bank of China, the central bank, also found itself in a dilemma: Any major move of the reserves out of the dollar would immediately accelerate the loss in value of the remaining dollars, while continuing to invest in dollars would only perpetuate the existing problem.

As one of the solutions, the CIC was created with a mission to diversify China’s huge foreign assets and to obtain higher returns. It is managed by a seven-member management committee, chaired by Lou Jiwei, the former deputy finance minister, who spearheaded fiscal reforms in the finance ministry in the 1990s. Among the CIC’s US$200 billion fund capital, roughly US$90 billion has been dedicated to international market, with the remaining US$110 billion to the domestic financial sector.

Concerns about SWFs

Journalists walk across a screen projecting the logo of PetroChina after the 2005 interim results announcement on Aug. 24, 2005. (Photo by Kin Cheung/ATP)

F

or the first time since the financial crisis broke out in late 2008, Lou Jiwei, chairmen of the China Investment Corporation (CIC), may finally heave a sigh of relief. Despite huge losses in its earlier investments, the CIC may see a return as high as 5 percent (US$10 billion) for last year.

Since its founding, Lou and his management team have been the subject of much public criticism, this was further compounded when CIC’s high profile investments in Blackstone (US$3 billion) and Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley (US$5 billion) suffered losses of over 50 percent and 70 percent respectively.

The reported profit, if true, would make the CIC the top performer among NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

the world’s major sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), many of which suffered a loss of over 20 percent in 2008. Most of the CICs profits come from its investment in domestic banks, such as China Construction Bank, Bank of China and China Galaxy Securities.

The CIC was established on September 29, 2007 with US$200 billion drawn from China’s then US$1.4 trillion forex reserve.

Since the late 1990s, China has maintained a huge annual current account surplus. With most of its reserves tied up in US Treasury and corporate bonds, the return has been between 2 percent and 4 percent, not too impressive when compared to the annual 10 percent plus growth of China’s GDP.

The CIC was created on the eve of the global financial crisis and as a result incurred significant losses. However, its creation also coincided with an explosion in the growth of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), whose government ownership has caused considerable political concern in Western countries.

The decade-long economic boom, high oil prices and large current account surpluses have allowed Asian and Middle Eastern countries to amass capital big enough to launch SWFs. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that SWFs worldwide hold between US$1.9 and US$2.9 trillion in funds which are growing at a rate of US$800–900 billion per year. This in turn has caused widespread political concern in regard to national security, investing with strategic motives, lack of transparency and unfair competition. With China being deemed as a rising global power, the CIC, one of the most prominent SWFs with its US$200 billion fund, has inevitably set off alarms among overseas policymakers.

After the bid for Unocal by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) was blocked by the US government, and the more recent aborted bid

by Huawei and Bain Capital to purchase 21

COVER STORY 3Com, the United States is particularly cautious about Chinese investors. Many were suspicious that the CIC might tie up with other Chinese State-owned enterprises to make strategic investments in the US. “The Chinese government … is projected to have more than US$3 trillion in foreign exchange reserves by 2010 that can be used to buy our stocks, bonds, real estate, and entire corporations,” warned US Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur early last year. Not long after the CIC’s deal with Blackstone, the US Congress introduced new legislation with more strict disclosure requirements.

“If a Chinese investor wants to buy over 10 percent of a major American company, it will very likely incur a security check from the regulator,” Howard Chao, O’Melveny’s partner in charge of Asia Practice, told Chinese media in late 2007. That might explain why CIC’s Blackstone and Morgan Stanley deals were set on a 9 percent and a 9.9 percent stake respectively.

While repeatedly assuring Western governments that the CIC is a commercially driven, not a politically motivated investor, the CIC has supported a voluntary code of conduct for SWFs under the IMF, but

resisted mandatory transparency rules.

Last year in Europe, where the CIC invested little, the European Parliament and trade unions pushed for binding regulation of SWFs, fearing they would grab their corporate crown jewels, threaten European jobs and use the investments to exert political influence.

In the Asian Business Forum held in Boao, China, in April 2009, Lou said that EU officials had approached him, asking him to make the commitment that the CIC would not make an investment that exceeds 10 percent of a company’s assets, or would not want voting rights. “I said I could not accept that. Then they said Europe did not welcome me,” recalled Lou, adding “I have to thank these European officials. They saved me a lot of money.”

However, with lending drying up in many Western banks and the recession now biting, SWFs have appeared more like a savior in 2009 than a threat. For instance, in Italy, the Libyan Investment Authority’s purchase of stakes in Italy’s second largest bank UniCredit and oil company Eni has been met with no opposition from the regulators.

“I want to emphasize that there hasn’t been a single case where major Chinese investment has been blocked inside of the Europe Union,” Serge Abou, ambassador of the EU Delegation to China, told NewsChina on May 4 , “I would be happy to see Mr. Lou to invest in the EU region.

Lou himself has noticed an attitude change within the EU. “Now they have come to me for help without conditions and I am beginning to consider making investments in Europe again.” he said at the Boao Forum.

Despite the new openness displayed by the EU, whether it will allow the CIC to control or purchase a blocking stake in a European company still remains to be seen. France, for example, has set up a 20 billion euro state Strategic Investment Fund, apparently with an aim to protect its companies from foreign investors during the crisis. In the UK, Chinalco’s recent attempt to enhance its stake to 18 percent in Anglo-Australian mining group Rio Tinto has also caused protests from many British shareholders.

A Strategy Shift When the CIC was first established, prices of oil and other natural resources were at record highs. With this in mind, investment in the then lucrative financial markets seemed to be the best option. In 2007 Lou stressed that the CIC would be “focusing on financial portfolios,” while Gao Xiqing, the CIC’s general manager, also specified that the fund would concentrate on “the cash market, fixed income, equity and hedge funds, as well as private equity.”

Due to its lack of experience in international investment, many analysts suspect that the CIC’s early deals in Blackstone and Morgan Stanley relied largely on personal connections. For example, Antony Leung, chairman of Blackstone’s Greater China operations and former Hong Kong financial secretary, is known to be on very good terms with the mainland’s financial authorities. While Morgan Stanley has a longstanding relationship with Central Huijin, a subsidiary company of the CIC. “When investing in the international market, the CIC should stick to the market

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NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

COVER STORY principle, rather than be influenced by officials or rely on personal connections.” Li Zhongmen, a research fellow from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), told NewsChina. “CIC should continue to work with intermediary institutions and consulting agencies for expertise.”

In April 2008, the CIC signed a deal with JC Flower (JCF) to jointly establish a US$4 billion fund for overseas investments, with the CIC providing US$3.2 billion or 80 percent of the fund. By negotiating with both JCF and Texas Pacific Group (TPG), the CIC managed to wring concessions out of JCF on its share of the profits and the management fees. By investing through intermediary institutions, the CIC also hoped to ease worries over a lack of transparency.

But burnt by the financial crisis and under fire from the public, the CIC has since become wary of the financial sector, and has distributed 90 percent of its assets in cash or assets with high liquidity, such as treasury bonds, bank bills, savings and structural products. Lou admitted to a Hong Kong audience late last year that the CIC is “not brave enough” to invest in foreign financial firms. Although the strategy that “cash is the king” might have reduced its losses on paper, it has also been criticized as being too conservative.

“The CIC, as well as other Chinese firms, should be more active in investing in developed countries. Otherwise, it will re-

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

main an ordinary State-owned company, and will never become successful in the real sense,” explained Researcher Li Zhongmen.

In discussing the CIC’s strategy in an interview with NewsChina, Chen Fengying, director of the Institute of World Economic Studies under the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said the CIC should still focus on the financial sector, and leave the nonfinancial sector to other Stateowned companies.

However, it seems that the CIC has decided to shift its investment away from the financial sector to natural resources, fixed income and real estate. In February, Lou led a CIC delegation to Australia, where he met Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan, who reportedly said Australia would welcome investments from China.

On April 29, the CIC announced a restructuring plan setting up four departments to manage its investments, including a department “dealing with big opportunistic investments aimed at long-term returns” and the one overseeing private equity fund investment.

In late 2008, the CIC recruited about 30 financial professionals with extensive overseas investment experience. In an apparent

attempt to inject international expertise into its senior management team, under the restructuring scheme, several former Wall Street bankers have been promoted to senior positions, roles previously held primarily by former government officials.

In late April, German carmaker Daimler’s chief executive told a German newspaper that Daimler is negotiating with the CIC over the selling of its shares. With Abu Dhabi, another SWF, having already purchased 9.1 percent of Daimler’s shares, there is no obstacle for a potential CIC purchase. If this were to happen, it would constitute the CIC’s first big investment in Europe.

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COVER STORY

Two Trillion Ways to Spend a Fortune It is undoubtedly better to let individual enterprises and companies, rather than the government, play a big role in investing overseas.

By Su Qi

W

eral public and regulators want to see.

How then might the forex reserves be spent on the overseas market?

In 2007 the government founded the China Investment Corporation to invest mostly in foreign markets. Unfortunately for the CIC, however, its creation was illtimed, and was soon met by the onset of the global financial crisis.

The global financial crisis also hit private investors. The most notable casualties included the halting of a highly anticipated plan for individual direct investment in Hong Kong-listed shares, and the slowing down of the expansion of the qualified domestic institutional investor (QDII) scheme. The two schemes were originally designed as a means of relieving some of the pressure exerted by the huge forex reserves.

The limited investment channels, together with the swelling reserves, forced China to buy more “strategic hard currency” such as oil and mining resources.

However, the aborted CNOOC bid for Unocal in 2005 as well as Chinalco’s yet to be finalized acquisition of Rio Tinto point to the complexity and political sensitivity What Can be Done? involved in China’s acquisition of overseas At present, it seems unfeasible to convert the strategic resources. reserves into Chinese Renminbi to suppleBy contrast, the purchase of shares in ment social insurance funds or for other do- high-quality foreign manufacturers is mestic uses. In China, foreign money needs unlikely to provoke similar political ire. A to be converted into Renminbi to exert its number of private Chipurchasing power. However, in doing so, nese companies have the issuance of huge amounts of Renminbi acquired some small and would almost certainly increase inflationary medium-size enterprises pressure, and this is the last thing the genin Europe. However, acquisition of large enterprises is a more challenging process. Attempts by the TCL Corporation, a leading Chinese consumer electronics producer, to “go global,” have proved that handling cultural (Graphics by Ye Xueming) differences and balancing

hile China’s overseas investment continues to draw attention from the West, the country’s US$2 trillion of foreign exchange (forex) reserves, coupled with the ongoing global financial crisis, have opened up a debate among the country’s financial regulators as to how to safeguard its worth.

On the one hand, the value of China’s forex reserves are likely to become all the more valuable in the context of the global financial crisis, as Western countries, keen for China to help stimulate the world’s economy, look to the reserves as a potential source of investment.

On the other hand, the reserves, much of which is in the form of US Treasury and corporate bonds, remain susceptible to external market forces. This risk was recently underlined, when a number of Chinese financial institutions, including China Investment Corporation (CIC), suffered substantial book value losses due to their equity investments in failing Western banks.

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both home and overseas markets, are by no means an easy task for a transnational company.

In short, there is no easy route to success when making overseas investments. However, it is undoubtedly better to let individual enterprises and companies, rather than the government, play a big role in investing overseas. This is in line with international norms and helps ease other countries’ nervousness when dealing with Chinese investment. In addition, it is far easier to scrutinize and evaluate corporate performance.

Bonded but not Bound A number of analysts have questioned China’s continued investment in US dollardenominated bonds. Yet it would harm both parties if China chose to substantially reduce its holding. Additionally, maintaining the investment conveys the message that China is willing to tough it out through the crisis together with the world’s largest economy. Of course, once the global economy rebounds, investment returns from the US bonds are likely to be augmented.

Due to its levels of economic development and risk management, it remains doubtful that China will open its capital account for the time being. In turn, this means that incoming foreign money will continue to be deposited into banks and managed by the State.

Easing the pressure exerted by the forex reserves is, however, achievable through a number of smaller, no less equal measures.

For example, the government could gradually increase the forex holding quota for enterprises and individuals, while granting more forex credit support to export-oriented small and medium-sized private enterprises. Such measures would help diversify investment channels and allow more players to share the pressure of the huge forex reserves.

(Translated by Staff Reporter NEWSCHINA Chen Dongyi) June 5, 2009

COVER STORY

A woman sits in a Hong Kong tramway while watching Minibond holders (unseen) protesting outside a bank on October 31, 2008. Hong Kong’s Consumer Council said it was considering suing banks which allegedly missold mini-bonds backed by the failed US investment bank Lehman Brothers as risk-free investments.

(AFP PHOTO/MIKE CLARKE) NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

25

POLITICS

A Chinese Navy nuclear-powered submarine during an international fleet review to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PLA Navy, April 23, 2009 off Qingdao. (Photo by Guang Niu/AP)

The 60th Anniversary of the Chinese Navy The 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic Army Navy was celebrated amid an unprecedented raf t of publicity, including a sea parade involving an international fleet. What message did this send to the world?

By Staff Reporter Yu Xiaodong

O

n April 22, the Chinese Navy, under the theme of a “Harmonious Ocean,” held an unprecedented sea parade in Qingdao, headquarters of the Navy’s North Sea Fleet, to mark its 60th anniversary. Led by two of China’s newest nuclear-powered submarines, the Navy’s 25 naval vessels and 31 aircraft, the parade also included 21 vessels from 14 other countries, including the US’ 7th Fleet missile destroyer the USS Fitzgerald, and the Russian cruiser the CG011 Varyag, as well as ships from France, Canada and Australia.

According to Admiral Wu Shengli, the navy chief, the international sea parade was intended to enhance cooperation with foreign navies and ensure ongoing 26

maritime safety.

Born from a small fleet of nine warships that had defected from the Kuomintang to join the communist army in 1949, the Navy has since developed into a formidable regional naval force equipped with nuclear-powered submarines and missile destroyers, along with squadrons of new naval jet fighters and fighter bombers. The navy now has 780 vessels with a total tonnage of 1.07 million.

According to Rear Admiral Zhang Shiying, deputy commander of the North Sea Fleet, all the Chinese vessels and aircrafts that took part in the parade were designed and made independently by China. The Navy also made rapid progress in its logistics and support capability, with the ton-

nage of complementary ships now six times higher than 30 years ago.

Prior to the celebration, Admiral Wu had said that the navy plans to develop a new generation of warships and aircraft as part of the country’s effort to upgrade its maritime security defense system. According to him, the navy will develop weaponry such as large combat warships, submarines with longer range and stealth capability, supersonic cruise aircraft, more accurate long-range missiles, deep-sea torpedoes and upgraded information technology. “More of the country’s national interests overseas need to be protected with a correspondingly strong navy,” he explained.

Wu didn’t elaborate on the plans for the “large combat warships,” but many earlier reports have indicated that China may build its own carriers soon. According to the China Daily, Senior Colonel Li Jie, a researcher at the Chinese Navy’s Military Academy, said the “large warships” Wu had mentioned did not refer exclusively to aircraft carriers.

Currently, the Chinese Navy’s vessels are rather small. With 780 vessels, a total tonnage of 1,070,000 and an average tonnage of 130, while Japan has an average tonnage of more than 3,000 with 150 vessels and a total tonnage of about 500,000.

The US’ Seventh Fleet alone, which has about 50 vessels including several aircraft carriers, has an average tonnage of well over 10,000.

Wu also commented that China needed to establish a maritime defense system that corresponds with the need to protect China’s maritime security and economic development. Last year and earlier this year, China sent two fleets to the Gulf of Aden to participate in the international effort to curb piracy in the area, a sign to some that China is ready to defend its trade routes.

Currently around 90 percent of China’s global trade relies on the ocean.

Since the mid-1980s, the Chinese Navy has officially adopted a doctrine of “offshore defense.” Analysts believe that “offshore defense” will remain the doctrine of the Chinese Navy in the near future. However, the definition of “offshore” may be extended to further waters as the Navy obtains better naval weaponry and stronger operational capabilities.

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

POLITICS

Manpower Counts

—Interview with Retired Navy Admiral Yang Huaiqing The People’s Liberation Army Navy is modernizing its equipment and technolog y, and has attained both conventional and nuclear weapons. Missiles, warships, electronics and nuclear submarines are important to a modern military, but, in an interview with NewsChina, Admiral Yang Huaiqing (ret.) says high-quality personnel is essential to making a modern military’s advanced hardware eff ective.

By Staff Reporters Wu Chenguang and Wang Qian

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etired Nav y Admiral Yang Huaiqing spent nearly his entire career as a member of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, where he served in a number of prominent positions. He was appointed political commissar in 1995. He served in this post for eight years and, in 2008, after 50 years of service, Admiral Yang retired from the Navy.

In a recent interview with NewsChina, the retired Admiral revealed his opinions on the development of the Chinese Navy.

NewsChina: Toward the end of 2008, a Chinese naval task force for the first time in its history embarked on a mission to stop piracy in the Gulf of Aden. The media hailed the mission as “the Chinese navy’s first ocean-faring expedition since the 15th century.” How do you view this?

Yang Huaiqing: The Navy now stands at a turning point – it is transforming from a naval force driven by traditional mechanization to one powered by information technology. The navy’s piracy-fighting mission in waters nearly half a world away is a product of naval development over the past few decades.

NewsChina: In 1995, the Chinese Navy staged one of the largest naval parades in Chinese history. In April of this year, there was another parade in the port of Qingdao.

What progress has the Navy made in the last 14 years in regards to equipment and weapons?

Yang Huaiqing: Advances in modern technology, in particular information technology, have been increasingly employed in military operations, and armed forces NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

around the world are becoming more IToriented. Knowledge and technology are at the very core of an army’s fighting capacity.

It is against this background that the Chinese Navy has developed into a force that integrates all the different fighting elements, and that has acquired conventional and nuclear capabilities. Batches of new submarines, destroyers and escort vessels have been commissioned and precisionguided weaponry has been introduced. All this combines to form an advanced battle platform. But in the final analysis, it is high-quality personnel that are expected to operate the advanced hardware to its fullest potential.

News China: Considering old-generation generals of the PLA, who rose to prominence through military accomplishments, how can the PLA, particularly the Navy, who has not seen a war in 30 years, ensure that the personnel are effectively trained?

Yang Huaiqing: The Navy has made personnel development its top priority. The

Navy has strengthened its efforts in recruiting high-caliber officers from university graduates and has made the best use of the de-commissioned military personnel.

Since 2000, the Navy h a s en l i s te d more than 10,000 university graduates from both civilian universities and military academies. Many naval officers possess post-graduate degrees or higher. The Navy has also selected 5,000 technical professionals from other services. These efforts ensure that personnel development matches the progress of weapons upgrades. Every year, more than 100 officers that hold a rank above ‘regiment’ level are selected to serve in the command posts beyond their areas of responsibility and expertise in order to expand their scopes and abilities. In cooperation with weapons manufacturers and research institutes, our technicians are involved in production and research processes so that they have a better understanding of the weapons system.

But, we still have many difficulties in personnel development. The majority of our officers, for instance, still lack actual combat and cross-expertise experience, and most of them are more familiar with traditional mechanical weaponry than the latest information-oriented weapons system. We still have a long way to go.

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SOCIETY

The Curious Case of Adult Babies Many elderly people in China find that they have to continue providing for their grown-up children.

By Staff Reporter Shao Xinfang

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u Ying’s mother is busier now than she was before her retirement. The 58-year-old woman gets up at 6 a.m. every day and

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prepares breakfast for her 29-year-old jobless, unmarried daughter. At 7 a.m., the old woman hurries out to a nearby fast food restaurant where she works part-time for

very moderate extra pay. Four hours later, she goes food shopping, and then returns home to prepare lunch for her daughter.

During the rest of the day, she does all the

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June 5, 2009

SOCIETY household chores and runs the family errands.

No matter how busy or tired she is, Xu Ying’s mother never asks her daughter to help with the housework. She stubbornly clings to the belief that in order for her expectations to be filled, the most important things Xu Ying must have are time and opportunity.

Xu Ying usually gets up at about 9 a.m., but on April 2, she was awoken by a telephone call at 8:30. With lightening Living off their parents, jobless young people are left feeling distressed and disoriented. (Photo by Oded Balilty/AP)

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June 5, 2009

speed, she sat up and reached for her mobile phone, hoping that the caller would ask her to take part in a placement exam or a job interview. However, when she heard the voice from the other end, she became crestfallen. It was her mother reminding her to heat the milk for herself.

Where Do All the Opportunities Go? In recent years, there have been a growing number of young people aged between 16 and 35 who are not actively progressing in a career or work-life, but living off their parents. And with the onset of the current global economic downturn, the number has risen dramatically in the recent past.

For years, the simple ring of the telephone would bring Xu Ying to the heights of ecstasy, or to the depths of depression, but since the second half of 2008, it has been less likely that the person on the other line would be a potential employer calling for an interview.

Xu Ying has been searching for an ideal job – one with decent pay and appeal – since she graduated from a university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province six years ago.

Then, in 2003, Xu was fresh on the scene, expectant and patient in her job searching, and she turned down every job offer that came her way, because none of them met her requirements.

Xu Ying is not alone. According to a survey conducted by MyCos Educational Consulting Company, among the 4.95 million 2007 graduates, 600,000 are still out of work, 445,500 of whom are still looking for a job, 44,600 are planning further education, while the remaining 109,900, are doing nothing but living off their parents.

Statistics from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) suggest that this year college graduates will face an even harsher employment situation as there are 1.5 million unemployed graduates from previous years, in addition to the expected 6.1 million graduates that will also need jobs. As shown by a recent report from the CASS, 2.2 percent of new graduates, or 130,000 have expressed that they will neither work nor study but live on financial aid from their parents. If those who are forced to become dependent adults because they have failed to find work are included, the

number could be much larger.

Xu Ying desperately wanted to work as a civil servant in the government, or become a well-paid office worker in an established company. However, such opportunities never materialized. She finally agreed to work as a teacher in a local high school, but she only stayed for one month.

“I couldn’t stay there any longer because I hated to get up at 6 a.m. and work late and be paid a humble monthly rate of merely 2,000 yuan (US$290), and the office politics were suffocating,” complained Xu Ying. Her colleagues were not impressed by her either.

Due to her pickiness about jobs, she became frustrated over and over again.

Hoping to make herself more valuable to potential employers, she decided to pursue a master’s degree. For several weeks she buried herself in books, studying for the MA degree program entrance examination. Her hard work paid off when, in September, 2004, she was admitted into a prestigious university in Zhejiang Province to study Chinese language and literature.

In 2007, Xu Ying finished her graduate studies and soon found out that competition in the job market was even fiercer than three years before. “Every job fair was packed with job hunters and sometimes a single job vacancy was up for grabs by hundreds of applicants,” Xu Ying told NewsChina.

For Xu Ying, it was a harsh lesson in reality: Not even an advanced degree could guarantee work. Indeed, many dependent children between the ages of 24 and 35 have obtained graduate degrees, but are still stuck with their parents.

Since she did not study a “hot” specialty and lacked work experience, Xu Ying was left out in the cold when it came to job fairs. Unfortunately, the only two offers she got were no better than those she had got a few years before. She turned down both of them.

Decades of economic development have helped improve living standards in China, which has enabled many families to support non-working children. Psychologist Li Jianzhong believes that existence of such phenomena is based on having a sound family income or savings (although a few poor families also have dependent 29

SOCIETY

A group of female college graduates stand on stage competing for a post as a mode. (Photo by Zheng Pingping)

adults to support).

While Xu Ying’s family has been able to support her, she began to see that she was becoming a burden, so in order to ease that burden and gain work experience, she got a job as an insurance salesperson. Two weeks later she was ordered by her parents to go home. It seems they had overheard colleagues and neighbors gossiping about their daughter. They were embarrassed that she could be seen selling insurance door to door, and, being concerned about their family’s “image,” they decided they would rather provide for their daughter than suffer the humiliation of her working a job for which she was overqualified.

Xu Ying is now studying diligently for the PhD entrance examination, while continuing to visit recruitment agencies, job fairs, and trying everything to find work.

“Whenever I see my father’s figure receding as he goes out for work early in the morning or the gloomy look on my mother’s face, I feel a gnawing sense of guilt,” said Xu. “I owe them a lot. But I have to stick it out. There’s no way back down.”

The Young Parasite Unlike Xu Ying, who is trying hard to find a decent job, Qing Yang would rather just live off his parents.

As a matter of fact, many Chinese parents have failed to instill in their children a sense of duty and the importance of be30

ing independent. So they are less likely to let children go off on their own, and more likely to keep their children from the hardships of reality, giving them anything they want. This is compounded by the fact that many Chinese families have only one child.

Qing Yang’s parents would rather not be part of this group, they find his fooling around unbearable, and repeatedly warn Qing that, “If you continues to hang around like this, we won’t give you a cent more!”

Qing, however, turns a deaf ear to such warnings and continues to do as he pleases, he never believes his parents mean what they say.

Three years ago when Qing was graduating from a technological university in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, his parents, who own a small studio in Changshu, Jiangsu, fearing that house prices would continue to soar, spent all of their savings to buy an apartment for their son in downtown Changshu.

Qing now lives alone in the apartment, free of any cares in the world. He gets up late every day, and then walks 15 minutes to his parents’ house for breakfast or lunch, depending on what time he gets out of bed. On the table at his parents’ house is his daily spending money of 30 to 50 yuan (US$4 to $7), and if the money is missing, he will run to the studio and demand the money from his parents. He regularly takes his dirty clothes to his parents’ house and

leaves after meals with clean laundry. Usually, he spends each day surfing the Internet or playing online games; once in a while, he goes out for exercise or to meet up with friends.

For nearly three years, this has been the life of the 26-year-old computer science major. Qing Yang’s parents, both in their fifties, resign themselves to these kind of dayto-day affairs. “A saying goes that one rears children against old age. But what kind of old age will we have?”

Qing is always irritated when his parents ask him to find a job. He is quite particular when it comes to what type of job he wants, and he has done a great deal of job-searching in the past. But, he, like many young Chinese fresh out of college, wanted his job to be easy, fun and come with good pay.

When he graduated, Qing found a job with a famous IT company. But he quit within two months because the spoiled young man thought the job was too demanding and exhausting. Later he got another job as a computer engineer in a small local securities company, where he stayed for even less time because he was dissatisfied with the office politics. Many employers now regard him as a chronic “job-hopper,” and are hesitant to take a chance on him, diminishing his hopes of ever finding a job.

And so, frustrated by his job-hunting experience, the young man has given up job hunting altogether, and decided to stay at home and live under his parents’ patronage.

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June 5, 2009

SOCIETY “I was once eager to work, but it was work that saddened me,” Qing desperately confessed. He seems to be quite accustomed to his present parasitic life and seems to have no future plans at all.

High Unemployment In addition to the ability of parents to support children longer than ever before and lazy children not waiting to look for work, the blame for the rise in the number of dependent children also lies with large scale unemployment. Jiang Zhonglian, vice chairman of the Wuhan Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, argued, “The number of adult dependants is growing not because many young people are reluctant to work but because they have no job opportunities.”

Young people are also picky about the locations of employment, preferring to work in economically developed, but more competitive cities like Beijing, Shanghai,

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Guangzhou and the coastal cities in east China, instead of in relatively underdeveloped central and western regions.

Many enterprises in those developed cities have either gone bankrupt or cut down on their recruitment due to the global economic downturn. In addition, supply is predicted to continue to outstrip demand in China’s job market as the net increase of working-age population amounts to as high as 8 million or 10 million each year.

Doctor Li Tianguo, a researcher from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, pointed out that in general, there are three things that the unemployed graduates can do: live off their parents, obtain a part-time job, or apply to receive unemployment subsidies. But in China, the third option is not yet available to college graduates. Taking all this into account, it seems, the number of dependant adults will continue to grow.

More and more this phenomenon is considered a pressing social problem. As Doctor Li Tianguo warned, “As they are

becoming less and less competitive in job markets, those non-working youngsters are likely to be left on the periphery of the society and become more prone to drugs, violent crimes, etc. Besides, their dependence on their parents’ wages or even retirement pensions not only infringes on the interests of their parents but is also detrimental to China’s fragile social security system for the elderly.”

While sociologists and psychologists advise that the Chinese parents need to inculcate in their children the importance of independence, most would agree that the only way to tackle the problem is to expand employment, offer free professional training, and teach more employment-oriented courses at university. Some argue that preferential policies, low-interest loans and unemployment subsidies need to be made available to the jobless young people. In addition, some experts propose that young people should change their mentality about employment and become more practical and flexible.

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SPECIAL REPORT

Wu Haozhou, born January 17, 2009.

Chen Jiajia, born October 20, 2008.

One-Year Anniversary of the Sichuan Earthquake

Rebuilding Lives in the Wake of Catastrophe

Liu Linlin, born August 24, 2008.

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Li Zhenghao, born May 14, 2008.

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SPECIAL REPORT

Majiang Nanyue, born December 27, 2008.

Xu Pengbin, born June 26, 2008.

A year has passed since the country’s most devastating earthquake in 30 years hit the southwest province of Sichuan, where, according to a report issued by the Sichuan provincial government on May 7, 2009, a total of 68,712 people have been confirmed dead and 17,921 are missing. The total student death toll is 5,335. Now, rebuilding eff orts are being made in all aspects of life, including building houses, schools, stores and other public facilities. E ff orts are also being made to heal the trauma people have suff ered and to reorganize families. The construction of the new county seat of Beichuan in another location broke ground this month, new-born babies bring parents new hope, and strangers’ off ering of help injects a certain vitality into local officials helping to arouse their enthusiasm for the hard work ahead.

Li Yuxuan, born December 15, 2008.

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June 5, 2009

Chen Duo, born January 24, 2009.

(Photos by Xi Haibo)

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SPECIAL REPORT

A New County of Beichuan Beichuan Count y in Sichuan Province, nestled in a beautif ul valley between thickly wooded mountains, was completely wiped out during last year’s devastating earthquake. Most of the survivors are still living in temporary shelters in nearby Mianyang City. They are told that the “new Beichuan County” will be constructed soon, but, for most of them, “ home” still refers to the leveled county seat that sits amid rubble.

By Staff Reporter Wang Gang

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esides the Han ethnicity (China’s ethnic majority), Beichuan county was also home to about 80,000 ethnic Qiang people, about 50 percent of the county’s total population, 10 percent of whom died in the disaster.

The old county seat was nestled in a beautiful valley encircled by densely forested mountains. It was completely wiped out in the devastating earthquake registering 8.0 on the Richter scale on May 12, 2008. To compound the disaster, a massive landslide occurred later in September, burying part of the evacuated town and with it all hope for the survivors that they may one day return. Of the total of 86,633 reported dead and missing in the Sichuan earthquake, more than 10,000 were from this county.

The county’s downtown area, Qushan, which had a population of 16,000 before the earthquake, is to be made into a memorial park. Up to 8,000 may have died in Qushan alone, according to official Xinhua News Agency. The survivors have been relocated to the nearby cities of Mianyang and Anxian and are not allowed to return to where their homes once stood, due to the authorities deeming the area too hazardous. The central government has decided to rebuild the county seat of Beichuan in the nearby Anxian County.

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New Home Students from Beichuan Middle School, where 1,000 lives were lost during the quake, are now studying in Changhong Center in Mianyang City, 90 kilometers from the old county seat.

Yang Xiaodan, a junior high student, whose parents died in the quake, now lives with her aunt. In class, her teacher always talks about the new Beichuan County and the new Beichuan Middle School. The teacher has somehow learned

that the new county will be the “largest” county in China. She consistently suggests that the students continue studying at Beichuan Middle School into their senior high years because, according to the teacher, the new school will have “the

(Graphics by Ye Xueming) NEWSCHINA

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SPECIAL REPORT

New Residents

The new Beichuan County seat broke ground on May 12.

By early May, the only visible sign of the new site is a huge billboard emblazoned with the words “Constructing a New Beichuan.” (Photo by staff photographer Zhen Hongg)

best teachers, the most reliable building, and the most hopeful future.” In reality, however, as of the beginning of May, the construction of the new school had not yet started, and the “best” aspects of the new school have so far only materialized in the blueprint.

In Yang Xiaodan’s eyes, however, the new county is not tangible. “Our teacher always talks about the new county where our new school will be built,” wrote Yang in a composition for her homework. “It will be located in the south of the old Beichuan County. That’s all I know about it.”

According to Yang, her aunt’s family now lives in a shelter they built themselves, instead of the portable housing provided by the government. They have no plans to move into the new county either, to them, the new county does not mean much.

Long Hao, a grade-one junior high student, has a similar idea about the new county. He lives with his family in Dengjia village, in the north of the old county seat.

He said that his family will not move into the new seat either, instead they will stay in Dengjia village. He knows that the new county will have a promising future, but NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

remains unsure as to how that may be achieved.

“New Beichuan” still seems a new term for most Beichuan residents. The term was first uttered by Premier Wen Jiaobao when he visited the quake-hit areas on May 22 last year. Standing on the ruins, he told the gathered crowd, “We are going to build a new Beichuan!”

For Beichuan survivors, Beichuan has always been there - the abandoned Qushan town now buried under the debris.

In Yongxing and Renjiaping, the suburban region of Mianyang City, threefourths of Beichuan’s survivors now live in portable housing. During the day, the young people go out to find work, only the seniors stay at the temporary shelters. But, to them, home is always in the old county.

An old man told a reporter that during the Qingming Festival, a festival for the Chinese to pay homage to their ancestors and deceased beloved ones, which fell on April 4 this year, his children went back to the old county to mourn their dead relatives.

“They came back and told me that the unattended peach trees at home had produced peaches,” he said.

The plans for a new nine square-kilometer county seat and a two square-kilometer industrial park was first decided upon in June and finally approved in late September last year. Anchang, Yong’an and Huangtu towns, formerly under the jurisdiction of another county, Anxian, were incorporated into the design of the new Beichuan County.

With the additional three towns, the total number of new Beichuan residents is to reach 87,000, among them, less than a quarter are old inhabitants. People from the surrounding towns are all eager to become new Beichuan residents.

Huangtu Town, formerly under the jurisdiction of Anxian County, was on the periphery of Anxian and was considered a “blind spot” of the local government. The situation in Wenquan, a village in this area, is even worse. The only road to and from the village is a dirt road, which becomes a swath of mud during rainy days and churns up clouds of dust when it is dry. Before the earthquake, the villagers had discussed raising funds to build a paved road, but everyone seemed reluctant to chip in their money.

After the earthquake, construction teams from other provinces came to the quakestricken areas, including this small village.

They built a new road for the villages, ending their long-standing headache.

Rumor is now circulating among the people of Huangtu Town that the construction of the new Beichuan county seat will draw an investment of 10 billion yuan (US$1.45 billion) from the central government with public facilities and big houses being built.

The construction of the new Beichuan county seat is yet to start and the only visible sign of the new site is nothing but a huge billboard on which the words “Constructing a New Beichuan,” are written. The new Beichuan County seat broke ground on May 12. During an interview with The Economic Observer based in Beijing, He Wang, vice county magistrate of Beichuan, said that the general construction will be finished by September 2010.

(Rewritten by staff reporter Wang Yan) 35

SPECIAL REPORT

The Burden of Being a Leader Local of f icials in Beichuan Count y who survived last year’s earthquake have been faced not only with the loss of relatives, fellow citizens and devastated homes, but an unrelenting workload and the responsibility of leading the recovery process.

By Staff Reporters Zhou Hualei and Wang Gang

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n Beichuan, earthquake survivors have had to face the cruel reality of losing relatives, homes, and assets.

While they are all survivors of China’s worst natural disaster in 30 years, it has remained difficult for them to move on with their lives amid the psychological trauma they continue to face.

The area’s officials, charged with the responsibility of overseeing the reconstruction, have felt this burden more than most.

Not only must they deal with the sadness of losing their loved ones, but they must also comfort others while helping them rebuild their lives.

Over the past year, two officials - Dong Yufei, director of the Beichuan County Agriculture Bureau, and Feng Xiang, vice director of the Beichuan Party Publicity

Family members of suicide victim Feng Xiang, former vice director of the Beichuan Party Publicity Department, light an oil lamp to commemorate him. (Photo by staff photographer Zhen Hongge)

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June June 5, 2009

Department, have committed suicide.

Psychological Collapse In the wake of the deadly earthquake, officials were inundated with work searching for bodies, settling survivors in shelters and portable houses, and arranging food and equipment distribution.

But one day while they were working, another tragedy struck. A landslide befell the quake-leveled region on September 24, 2008, further exacerbating official efforts.

Ten days later, Dong Yufei, 39, the county agriculture bureau director, hung himself. It has since been speculated that Dong resorted to suicide after being unable to cope with the sorrow of losing his son in the earthquake and an excessively heavy workload. Then, on April 20, 2009, Feng Xiang, 33, vice director of the Beichuan Party publicity department, was found dead in his brother’s home. Apparently, he too had hung himself. In an interview with the media during the Chinese Lunar New Year, on January 26 this year, Feng broke into tears when his eight-year-old son who died in the earthquake was mentioned.

Among the 1,500 Beichuan officials who survived the deadly earthquake, there are 281 who lost children, 390 who lost spouses, and 319 who lost parents. Some have lost more than others, like Ren Ming, who lost his mother, wife and daughter.

Since the earthquake, Ren is no longer the ambitious active young official he once was. As he sat with this reporter, his legs shook neurotically, he played with the keys of his mobile phone, and constantly changed the way he sat, apparently agitated.

Ren now appears to be indifferent to everything that used to interest him, such as getting ahead in his career, and saving money.

He has also taken to drinking heavily.

As a sufferer of severe depression, he was sent to a hospital in Mianyang City in January, where he was attended to by five nurses around the clock. The idea of committing suicide occurred to him many times. He discussed suicide with his friends, and said only half jokingly, “The only problem is that I don’t have the guts to do it.”

In the hospital, to escape loneliness, Ren often called Wang Xuemei, also a local NEWSCHINA

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official in Beichuan County. During the quake, she lost her husband and six-year-old daughter.

After Ren left the hospital two weeks after he was admitted, he began a romantic relationship with Wang Xuemei. In Beichuan, this is not uncommon – most officials that have lost a spouse have found new partners in the past year, despite reservations that this “wave of love” or “wave of marriage” has come too soon. The local government believes that this will help soothe the pain, and has encouraged officials to start relationships.

Despite his new relationship, Ren is still dispirited towards life and work. The local government department where he works has done what it can to help him and relieve him of his heavy workload. Nowadays, he admitted, he fools around most of the time.

“In fact, a lot of officials are like me: work when there is assignment, playing online games when there is nothing to do during the work hours. After work, I just drink, dance or wander around. ” His depression seemed contagious.

A Falling Leaf Wang Xuemei is a woman with strong willpower. Even after her family was broken, she continued to be optimistic about her life, and according to her coworkers and friends, she is healthy both physically and mentally.

But when she and Ren started their relationship, Wang felt overshadowed by Ren’s depression and became frustrated. She said, “I thought I had grasped new hope, but now it seems shattered.”

On April 1, 2009, Wang attended a gathering of friends. As the conversation turned to the earthquake, she began to think about her dead husband and daughter and missed them terribly. After leaving the party, Wang went home and found the medicine that Ren’s doctor had prescribed for his depression. She remembered the doctor had warned that an overdose could be fatal.

Then she sent a short text message to one of her best friends, “If Death won’t accept me, we will continue to be sisters,” and then she ate a handful of pills.

When she awoke from unconsciousness,

she found herself in the hospital. Ren was at her bedside along with her friends and relatives. Wang cried out that she would never do something like that again.

On her blog, “A Falling Leaf,” Wang Xuemei later wrote, “If I can live until tomorrow, I will lead a more colorful life. If I could not live until tomorrow, it would mean a happy reunion in another world.”

“The most popular slogan for us is ‘Our New Beichuan, Our New Hope, Our New Home’,” she said hopefully during a recent interview with NewsChina, “Every time I see this, I feel like crying.”

And as she spoke, she began to choke-up, “Now I still hope to live till the day when a new Beichuan County takes shape.”

A Long-term Mission The local government, concerned about the serious psychological strain put on local officials, has introduced a series of measures intended to address the situation, including a system designed to give officials regular breaks and a number of special recuperation programs.

In fact, as a key issue for post-earthquake recovery efforts, psychological reconstruction has never stopped. A government recuperation program was instigated in November 2008, with a total of 53 psychiatrists distributed among five local psychological assistance centers. In addition, volunteers from both China and abroad have poured into the region to assist the professional psychiatrists. Feng Xiang, the official who committed suicide, had accepted psychological treatment and was sent to a training program held in Jiangxi Province in December last year.

But, just as Zhang Kan, director from Psychological Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointed out during a recent interview with People’s Daily Online: “Officials are shouldering more pressure and they need long-term psychological assistance.”

The mission remains far from complete.

Editor’s Note: Names have been changed to protect anonymity. “Wang Xuemei” and “Ren Ming” are aliases.

(Rewritten by staff reporter Wang Yan) 37

SPECIAL REPORT

Newborns Bring Hope According to unofficial statistics f rom the Sichuan news-online service group (newssc.org), as of April 30, 2009, there were a total of 1,641 pregnant women and 252 new-born babies successfully delivered in the earthquake-hit areas. Remarried couples, reconstructed families and new-born babies are together creating hope for the future.

By Staff Reporters Chen Xiaoshu and Cai Rupeng

“I

t was raining when I assisted a woman in giving birth. Heavy rains and wind overturned the tent,” recalled a doctor who worked in the Luohan Temple in Shifang City, “so doctors and nurses held plastic sheets to shelter the woman and her baby, while they stood in the rain all night.”

That was May 18, 2008 – six days after the strong earthquake shattered China’s Sichuan Province. In the year since the devastation, 108 babies have been born in the local Luohan Temple alone.

I Miss My Child An over-exposed photo did not stand out when Qiang Guirong passed it to other parents who lost their children during the quake. But when they turned the photo over, neatly written words on the back caught their eyes: “Mom, your love is just like a piece of candy wrapped with nagging and scolding. I looked for it everywhere, and at last I got it when I grew up. I wish you a happy Mother’s Day!” At top of the message, it reads: “To Mom, 6:02 am, May 11, 2008.”

When Qiang Guirong received the photo from her daughter that day, she was moved by her daughter’s words, and after looking at it for a moment, put the photo into her pocket. But some 32 hours later, the photo became “the last message of love” from her daughter, and has it since became Qiang Guirong’s most cherished token.

Fan Shizhong, a father who lost his son during the quake has his own way of remembering his only child.

After the earthquake on May 12, Fan made it to the Juyuan Middle School – his 38

son Fan Xiao was still alive. As a former mine-worker, he knew how to rescue people in danger, but at this moment, his son was stuck under the debris. He tried to find someone to help him, but failed. He squatted next to his son and wept.

“Don’t cry, Dad, be strong,” said his son.

At 14:40, he told his father, “I can’t breathe.” In a hurry, Fan Shizhong tried to induce artificial respiration, but his efforts were in vain. His son spoke his last words, “I’m dying,” and perished.

“His shoes were still brand new,” said Fan, as he showed his diseased son’s shoes to others. He bought the shoes for his son right before the quake. Fan has since worn the shoes everyday. When asked why he is wearing this pair, he murmurs, “I don’t know…”

Fan Shizhong and Qiang Guirong have become friends. “These parents are on the same wavelength,” they said, referring to parents who lost children during the devastating quake.

New Families, New Life Yang Jianfen is a worker at the volunteers’ center in the Yongxing temporary-housing community, located in the suburbs of Mianyang. She lost her child in the earthquake.

Journalists have been clamoring to interview remarried couples in view of the first anniversary of the quake. When they come, Yang Jianfen sends them to see Yang Changbin and Zhou Xiaohong. “They are young,” she said, “just over 30 years old.

They can have a baby now.”

Yang Changbin lost six family members, including his wife and two children. Zhou

The word “child” seems to be the most mentioned and important word in the temporary-housing community, because it represents future and hope

Xiaohong lost five, including her husband and child.

“After everything, we survived the disaster,” said Zhou. “We want to have a complete family.”

“Both of us had happy families before the earthquake, so we want to have that again,” her husband, Yang Changbin, added.

Yang Jianfen said she is somewhat jealous of the remarried young couple. She and her husband are both over 40 and the chances for them to have another child are slim. The word “child” seems to be the most mentioned and important word in the temporary-housing community, because it represents future and hope.

“My daughter was so excellent and she performed so well in school,” said a tearful Yang Jianfen. “She died collecting homework for the teacher.”

Since then, Yang’s husband has suffered from mental illness due to their daughter’s death, and Yang Jianfen has been miserable for quite a long time. But she has begun to gradually feel better since becoming a volunteer in the temporary-housing comNEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

SPECIAL REPORT

Yu Lan, pictured in government provided portable housing, became pregnant shortly after the earthquake. Yu’s 6-year-old daughter was killed during the disaster. (Photo by staff photographer Zhen Hongge)

munity. She and her husband are thinking about adopting a child.

Hope is Born Jiang Ling, 23, is from Beichuan County.

Her baby was only 67 days old when the earthquake happened. The quake changed her life from being a happy mother with a new-born, to the misery of losing her child.

Now she is a volunteer at “Moms’ Home,” a psychological assistance center for the quake-hit areas. It gives pregnant women psychological counseling, helping 230 expectant mothers to deal with their psychological issues.

“If it weren’t for her, I could not have this healthy baby,” a new mother praised Jiang Ling, as she handed her baby to Jiang. Jiang Ling held the baby tightly, as tears streamed down her face.

For a whole year, Jiang Ling has not dared to look at babies as old as hers for fear of being reminded of her own son.

Thanks to a psychiatric counselor named Liu Meng, Jiang Ling began a whole new life with other volunteers to help pregnant women. Tedious tasks, such as washing NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

clothes and arranging books donated from across the country take up most of her time, giving her a chance to forget about the tragedy that happened to her. Now her major task is to comfort expectant mothers.

“We cry and laugh together, and we are looking forward to the future,” said Jiang.

The psychiatric counselor Liu Meng has noticed that to be pregnant again is a mother’s passive response, and it will increase rather than alleviate her pains.

Liu believes that women who get pregnant again after losing a child are faced with a conflict. “The conflicting roles affect the psychological health of the mother,” he said. They need to deal with the trauma from both the quake and from losing a child, but when they become pregnant before they have dealt with their psychological issues, “they have no choice but to accept the shift in roles,” explained Liu. “The two roles are completely contradictory – a woman who lost a child should be very upset, while a pregnant woman should be happy and relaxed.”

Liu Meng hopes Moms’ Home can help expecting mothers recover emotionally, so that they will have normal lives again, and

Recently remarried couple Yang Changbin and Zhou Xiaohong. (Photo by staff photographer Zhen Hongge)

have successful deliveries.

He is trying to create a peaceful and easy-going atmosphere at Moms’ Home, one where new mothers can come to support one another, and where people like Jiang Ling, who harbor bitter memories, can become bridges of support for the mothers.

Lack of funding is a major concern to be solved. Liu Meng has invested 200,000 yuan (US$29,000) of his own money, but it is not enough to support the organization. Daily expenditures, although not extreme, have become a burden for Liu and his volunteers. Fortunately the local government has given official approval to the organization, which means that Moms’ Home can receive donations from institutions and foundations.

There are seven newborns currently at Moms’ Home, and Jiang Ling said she is looking forward to the new lives that the other 230 pregnant women will bring to the world. She is preparing for her own pregnancy, she said, and added, “Children represent hope.”

(Rewritten by Wu Peng) 39

SPECIAL REPORT

The Incurable Wounds Photographer/Reporter Zhen Hongge

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NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

SPECIAL REPORT

A

ccording to a report in the China Economic Times, the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake has left some 7000 people in need of amputation rehabilitation. The figure, officially approved by the Health Department of Sichuan Province, is evidence of the lasting damage wrought by last year’s devastating earthquake.

Shifang City

This year Sichuan has seen an early summer, Luo Renhua, however, insists on wearing long-sleeved sportswear so as to avoid unveiling his scars to others. Luo, 34, a worker at the Shifang Chemical Factory, was covered by highly concentrated sulfuric acid during the May 12 Sichuan earthquake. He has since received 12 months of physical treatment.

For his convenience, the factory arranged a dormitory for him and his wife Bian Gangfen in downtown Shifang. Despite her husband’s wounds, Bian Gangfen remains optimistic, “Thankfully, our family is still intact, and his wounds are just skin-deep.”

Bian herself magically survived the earthquake. She had been buried under the debris for 124 hours before being excavated at 6 pm on May 17, 2008.

Tian Xingwan, 78, is now unable to speak after the earthquake left him partially paralyzed.

Anchang Town, Anxian County

Zheng Haiyang, 18, uses simple equipment for his rehabilitation. His father spent 1000 yuan (US$ 143) on two iron poles. The poles are placed on the window frames inside their portable house. With his two legs now amputated above the knee, Zheng’s height was reduced from 1.83 meters to less than one meter. Beichuan Middle School has informed him that he will be able to resume classes on May 13, one year after the earthquake. Haiyang’s father is eager for his son to restart his education and get his life back on track.

Li Zhongfu, 63, a below the knee amputee, works on his coordination skills before fixing his artificial legs. His wife’s right leg was amputated above the knee.

Yongxing Portable House, Suburb of Mianyang City

Li Rongrong, 6, whose right arm was amputated, now fears thunder and loud sounds. Li was playing in the Qushan kindergarten when the earthquake hit.

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

Chen Mei, 46, is struggling to practice walking in front of her family’s portable house. Her right leg was partially amputated above the knee, resulting in her being unable to walk more than 2 meters without the aid of crutches and an artificial limb.

Chen used to own a successful mahjong club in the old Beichuan County. According to her husband, when the earthquake struck, there were twenty people playing mahjong inside the club but she was the only person to survive. Last September, after Chen came back from Shanxi where she received medical treatment, she began to suffer a sudden blindness in her left eye and sporadic bouts of deafness, and has since been told that she will need a hearing aid. She currently uses pen and paper to communicate with her family.

Zheng Haiyang, 18, now undergoes rehabilitation training after both his legs were amputated above the knee. When feeling depressed Zheng enjoys chatting online.

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international

Obama’s War The new anti-terror policy mapped out by US President Obama highlights the geographical importance of Pakistan and emphasizes international cooperation. However, the relevant countries have so far been lukewarm in their responses to the new strateg y.

Unsure as to the eff ectiveness of the new initiative, concerns are now growing over the United States’ deepening involvement in Central Asia.

By Ye Hailin

I

n March, US President Barack Obama unveiled his new policy on Pakistan and Afghanistan. Also known as the “Af-Pak” strategy, the policy is an indication of Washington’s renewed belief in the inseparable nature of the two Asian countries.

The Vital Battlefield in Pakistan The “Af-Pak” policy, however, does not contain much that can be considered “creative”.

Among the five highlighted aspects, such as striving for achievable goals, pushing forward a regional approach, strengthening the training of the locals, mobilizing all resources and absorbing more participants from the international community, the only quantifiable difference between Obama and his predecessor George W. Bush lies in the former president’s disregard for a regional approach and acquiring increased international support.

Together, these two aspects indicate a shift in policy that will likely see the United States attach more importance to Pakistan than before, while looking to its NATO allies and other partners, the Central Asian states and Gulf nations, which have a stake in the security of the region, to take on a more active role. China, Russia, India and Iran are included in these groups of countries.

Why is Pakistan so important? The Swati militants, who claim to be affiliated to the Taliban, raided and occupied the Buner district, which is only 60 miles from Islamabad, in April. The betrayal of the tribal militants forced the Pakistani government to strike back. Regardless of the outcome of the battle, it has become an undisputable 42

truth that the Taliban issue in Pakistan is as serious as that in Afghanistan.

The spill-over of the Taliban presence into Pakistan not only threatens Pakistan’s fragile democracy, but also poses a threat to the logistics supply line along the Khyber Pass linking Pakistan and Afghanistan. The logistic route carries about 80 percent of the supplies to the US and NATO troops stationed in Afghanistan. If the supply line were to be cut off by Taliban militants, the fighting power of the 60,000 strong Allied forces would be crippled.

So, Washington, either out of the need to stop the Taliban from advancing south or out of consideration for protecting the Allied forces’ vital supply line, now has to give Pakistan top priority. It would be hard for the US to win the war against the Taliban, if anti-terror efforts are only carried out in Afghanistan. Taking all this into account, it is necessary to push forward a regional approach in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Small Following Obama has every reason to call for more countries to play an active role in combating the Taliban. According to the new strategy document, a firmly entrenched Taliban in either Pakistan or Afghanistan is not in the interest of any of their neighboring countries.

No Central Asian states or Gulf nations would be happy to see a Hamas-style regime in the area, let alone would the United States and its NATO allies.

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

international Iran, for example, has a long standing feud with the Taliban. Ten years ago, the Iranian ambassador to Afghanistan was murdered by the Taliban. In addition, Russia, India and China are all facing the threat of religious extremists and ethnic separatists.

Whether out of considerations of their own national interest or their policy continuity, these nations are not likely to oppose Obama’s new initiative.

Obama’s new strategy, however, has drawn only lukewarm responses from these countries, with the exception of India. A foreign diplomat stationed in Beijing said bluntly that they were not interested in this new policy. The Kyrgyzstan government has announced its intentions to close the Manas Air Base that had previously been leased to the United States, all but cutting

off the air corridor through which supplies were airlifted to the US troops in Afghanistan via Central Asia. True, Russia has generously offered to provide US troops with support. However, many US politicians point their fingers at Russia for the “loss of Manas.”

Why has there been a lukewarm response? A reasonable goal does not necessarily equate with an effective means in which to achieve it. Will the involvement of Pakistan and other members of the international community necessarily spell the end of the Taliban? So far the United States has failed to come up with a set of convincing specific tactics and measures, without which the strategy is nothing more than a piece of paper.

More importantly, others lack confidence in the United States itself. Throughout its

62-year history, Pakistan has been repeatedly let down by Uncle Sam. The most recent example came at the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Following the Soviet troops withdrawal, the United States wasted no time in disengaging itself from the area, leaving Pakistan alone to face its civil war-torn northwest neighbor. With such memories still fresh in mind, it is unlikely that Pakistan would devote itself to the US-advocated anti-terror war. To make matters worse, the Pakistani government is haunted by chronic internal strife.

In order to make the new strategy to work, the United States should first convince the relevant countries that this strategy has no motivation other than fighting terror. In the absence of other nations’ active response, Obama’s new strategy cannot go far.

(The author is a research fellow from the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Translated by Chen Dongyi)

AP Photo NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

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economy

Chinese Auto Sales Move into Top Gear

By Staff Reporter Liu Yan

Recent sales statistics have positioned China ahead of the United States as the world’s largest automobile market.

The increase, while coming amid the global economic crisis, is largely attributable to the Chinese government’s raf t of consumption boosting stimulus policies. But is the buying spree sustainable?

A

s automotive markets around the world face up to stagnating sales figures, the Chinese market is bucking the trend with an increase in auto consumption. This was especially evident during the recent 2009 Shanghai Auto Show in April, where record participation and strong interest cast a positive light over a dark shadow of worldwide slumps in sales.

Bigger Sales

Photo by Tong Yu

44

Recent statistics released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) showed that China produced 2.5676 million units and sold 2.6788 million units in the first quarter of this year, up 1.91 percent and 3.88 percent respectively year-on-year. In March alone, auto sales hit a record high of 1.10 million units, up 5 percent from last year. This is in stark contrast to figures in the United States where sales dropped 37 percent to 860,000 units, and in Japan where sales fell 32 percent to 320,000 units.

Furthermore, March marked the third consecutive month that China outperformed the US NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

economy in terms of total auto sales volume, giving China the top spot in the world’s automobile market.

The increase saw US company General Motors cast as a big winner, having sold 137,000 units in China in March, a 24.6 percent rise year-on-year and also a monthly record high, according to GM China.

Ironically, in its home market, GM lost US$30.9 billion in 2008. GM is expected to double its sales in China to 2 million units over the next five years.

Other leading global auto makers are also doing well in China. Volkswagen Group, for example, saw its three brands - Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda - all hitting monthly sales highs in March with combined sales exceeding 120,000 units. During the first quarter, its combined sales of new vehicles increased 6 percent to 284,000 units. Sales of luxury brand Mercedes-Benz also increased by 50 percent to reach 5,100 units during the month of March giving a boost to its first-quarter performance, which saw sales rise 30 percent to 11,000 units.

The increase in automobile sales in China was also reflected at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show, where a total of 1,500 auto companies were in attendance and 13 new models were debuted. The Shanghai auto show, China’s largest auto industry showcase, attracted more participants than both the Detroit and Geneva auto shows staged earlier this year.

Stimulus Policy The picture was quite different in 2008. Between April and December of last year, the Chinese auto industry witnessed month-onmonth decreases in both production and sales. Total sales for 2008 were 9.38 million units, a decline of 15 percentage points from 2007. Many attribute the success of the Chinese auto market in the first quarter this year to the stimulus policy crafted by the Chinese government.

In mid-January of this year, the State Council (China’s cabinet), mapped out an automobile industry stimulus package aimed at producing and selling more than 10 million autos in 2009 and achieving an annual growth of 10 percent between 2009 and 2011. The plan includes an assortment of policies designed to boost development NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

of the auto industry, including tax cuts and subsidiaries for rural auto buyers.

As of January 1 this year, the purchase tax on passenger cars was cut to 5 percent for models with an engine displacement of 1.6 liters or less. As a result, first quarter sales of passenger cars below 1.6 liter increased 21.7 percent to 1.41 million units when compared to last year’s figures. Vehicles with an engine size of 1.6 liters or less made up 52.6 percent of total sales during this period, and 70.63 percent of all passenger cars sold during the same time.

“The tax cut on purchases of vehicles with a 1.6 liter-size engine or less has helped to boost consumer confidence,” said Winfried Vahland, president and CEO of Volkswagen China.

Volkswagen Group Chairman Martin Winterkorn went so far as to call China a “home market.” According to a recently issued “2018 Strategy” document, Volkswagen China hopes to double its sales to 2 million by 2018.

Volkswagen’s position was echoed by Mao Liwu, general manager of Tianjin FAW Toyota. According to Mao, sales of Toyota’s Corolla model rose significantly in the wake of the stimulus plan. Thanks to the boost Corolla is giving the company, Toyota hopes to sell 700,000 vehicles in 2009, which would represent a growth of more than 16 percent over 2008. Last year, the Japanese auto producer experienced a global sales decline of 4 percent, with its sales in the US plummeting by 16 percent.

In addition to the tax cuts on the purchase of vehicles with a 1.6 liter or smaller engine, the government has also put forward plans to give 5 billion yuan (US$732 million) to subsidize the purchase of minivans (1.3 liters or less) by rural consumers.

Farmers who buy light trucks and minivans between March 1 and December 31 will get a 10 percent discount. Such subsidies could be as high as 5,000 yuan (US$730) for each purchase.

The stimulus plan also encourages companies to consider mergers and acquisitions in order to facilitate the formation of two or three giant auto manufacturers, each with an annual production capacity of 2 million units, and four to five companies, each with a capacity of 1 million units.

Such stimulus policies are regarded as a major factor behind the boost in first quarter auto sales figures. But some believe the auto spending spree also has a good deal to do with the way in which Chinese consumers buy cars.

Zeng Lintang, vice general manager of Toyota Motors (China) Investment Co., Ltd. told NewsChina that most of Chinese customers who have purchased a vehicle recently have done so with cash, rather than with bank loans. Normally, there is little difference in the ways people purchase cars, but during an economic crisis, the banks are reluctant to extend loans. Zeng believes that the Chinese seem not to have been hit as hard by the crisis, thanks largely to their high level of savings. His opinion is supported by the fact that luxury auto sales also rebounded along with the 1.6 liter or less passenger cars.

Is the Buying Spree Sustainable?

With a population of more than 1.3 billion, China is eager to reach a sales benchmark of 10 million units each year, and has adopted an ambitious target of annual sales growth of 10 percent during 2009 to 2011.

Gao Bing, a researcher with China International Fund Management Co., Ltd. said that prices for vehicles are not likely to decline if the current trend continues.

In Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan Province, for instance, there have been so many orders for Tianjin FAW Toyota’s ninth-generation Corolla model that orders placed now will not be filled until mid July or later. Given this fact, it seems likely that prices will not fall any time soon.

Despite this, Gao is not excessively confident in the market. He forecasts a drop in consumer confidence during the fourth quarter of this year.

The majority of auto makers, however, remain positive about the prospects in the Chinese auto market. “I have confidence in China’s economy,” said Zeng Lintang of Toyota China. And Dieter Zetsche, board chairman of Daimler-Chrysler, set this years’ sales targets at 6 to 12 percent over last year for Mercedes-Benz models in China.

(Rewritten by Chen Dongyi) 45

economy

Private Investment Encouraged in the Publishing Industry Market-oriented reforms in China’s press and publication sector are going ahead, but caution is urged to balance the management of capital and news reporting.

By Staff Reporter Zhou Zhenghua

I

n a new statement issued on April 6, the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), the government office that oversees the press and publication industry in China, outlined further reforms to the largely State-owned publication sector. Aimed at encouraging shareholding reform and the merger of publishing houses, the GAPP notice supports the development of private publication entities and cooperation between State-owned publishing houses and their privately-held counterparts. According to industry insiders, one of the ultimate goals is to wean publishing houses off government funding.

Two men read newspapers in a roadside display case in Beijing.

(AP Photo/Greg Baker)

Market-oriented Reform The GAPP initiated plans to reform the media sector in China as early as April 5, 2004, when a total of 21 publishing houses were selected as the first companies to transform from being funded by the State to being responsible for their own financial losses and profits.

In late 2007, the Liaoning Publishing & Media Co., Ltd., which is located in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, became listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. This thrust the publishing house into full-fledged market-oriented operations, putting both the business side and editorial side in line with the risks and benefits of the market.

After listing on the Chinese domestic Ashare market, the company carried out a series of expansionary steps, absorbing four of its unlisted subsidiaries and starting cooperative measures with a number of private players.

According to analysts who believe the GAPP statement recognizes Liaoning Publishing’s success, the GAPP is encouraging further efforts to build on this model of reform across the country’s press and publishing landscape.

46

Statistics show that the Chinese publication and media industry registered an industrial value of 850 billion yuan (US$124.7 billion) in 2008, roughly equivalent to that of the automobile industry.

On a dialogue program on China Central Television (CCTV), Liu Binjie, Minister of the GAPP, expressed dissatisfaction and noted that the proportion of the press and publication sector to the country’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is still too small, compared with other nations.

One of the GAPP’s ambitions is the creation of six or seven “mega publishing groups” within the next few years. The GAPP hopes these groups will each com-

mand 10 billion yuan (US$1.47 billion) in assets with 10 billion yuan in annual sales.

With the exception of a few non-profit publishing houses, such as the Ethnic Publishing House, the Braille Publishing House, and the flagship People’s Publishing House, which are destined to continue to receive funding from the government, the GAPP notice requires all publishing houses that are overseen by government departments, public institutions and universities to reshape themselves into market-oriented companies by the end of 2009. Publishing houses under the authority of the central government should finish restructuring by the end of 2010.

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

economy

Private Capital Booming Since embarking on the reforms in 2004, the publications and media industry has seen a significant growth in private capital investment. By 2007, 93.6 percent of publication distribution centers were privately funded and more than 50 percent of the teaching, children’s and business education books’ market was held by private publishing companies.

In respect to private capital, the GAPP statement said that private publication entities should be considered as important parts of the entire publishing industry and be covered by the publication sector planning. It went on to say that State-owned publication houses could cooperate with their private counterparts in capital investment and editorial operations, on condition that the State continues to own the majority stake.

Although the statement did not elaborate on how newspapers and magazines would be reformed, private capital has already found its way to some newspapers, such as the 21st Century Business Herald, the Oriental Morning Post and the Morning Post, each of which received investment from Shanghai Fosun. Other newspapers like the Beijing Times, the Economic Observer, the Chengdu Business Daily and the National Business Daily have also received investment from private capital.

A recent market survey conducted by the Institute of Market Information (IMI) shows that 82 percent of the media organizations in China lack funding, which means private capital has a big role to play in this field. On the other hand, private investors are eyeing the newspapers’ huge advertising market.

Policy Risks Ahead So far, when a private investor and a newspaper establish a joint venture company to take charge of advertising, printing and distribution, the editorial side of the newspaper is usually not open to private capital.

“Private investment in media involves considerable policy risks,” said Zhu Yipu, an analyst with the ChinaVenture Group, a leading research and consulting institute. Venture capital mainly focuses on such types of newspapers that specialize in consumerism, sales services and fashion. Normally, investors try to steer clear of the newspapers that report on politics and government policies.

Shen Hao is the publisher of the 21st Century series of newspapers, which are affiliated with the Nanfang Media Group. He believes that a Chinese newspaper should both have the expertise in market strategy and understanding of government policies.

In October 2007, the GAPP Minister Liu Binjie said in an interview that the government supported the stock market listing of local publication houses, newspapers and key official websites. At that time, Nanfang Media Group, Hubei Daily Group and Ningbo Daily Group were planning to be listed. But, according to industry analysts, in the end, regulators were not convinced of the balance between the capital market and news reporting management, thus postponing the listing of these groups.

(Rewritten and translated by Chen Dongyi) NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

47

ENVIRONMENT

Farewell, My Ice-bound Homeland A growth in interest among Chinese people in rare species f rom the south and north poles has led to a boom in the import of Antarctic animals and birds. The recent capture of 20 emperor penguins, now in a Dalian aquarium, has drawn attention to the issues concerning the ongoing practice of importing rare animal and bird species.

By Staff Reporters Cai Rupeng and Wang Yan

I

n recent years China has seen its number of aquariums mushroom.

Amid the increase in competition and in a bid to cater for audiences growing appetite for exotic species, aquariums now regularly stage exhibitions of their prized polar animals.

Topping the bill are Antarctic emperor penguins.

In late April, two emperor penguins from the Underwater World in Nanjing, the capital of the eastern province of Jiangsu, embarked on a one-month tour to the adjacent Anhui Province. During this tour the penguins were scheduled to be put on display at the Hefei Andover Oceanarium.

The official number of emperor penguins in China is “seven.” However, according to an investigation carried out

by NewsChina, the real number stands much higher.

Apart from the Nanjing Underwater World which owns six of the seven emperor penguins, another venue that houses the emperor penguin is the Pole Aquarium at Laohutan Ocean Park in

Dalian, a coastal city in the northeastern province of Liaoning. The 35,000-squaremeter aquarium, open to the public since April 28, 2002, is home to various kinds of polar animals - beluga whales, polar bears, walruses, penguins and sea lions. The Pole Aquarium is alleged to be the “world’s largest polar-animal aquarium.” Here, one of the seven precious emperor penguins in the country is kept and shown to the public every day.

But the real number of emperor penguins in the Pole Aquarium is still a mystery to the public. In April 2008, NewsChina reporters witnessed more than 20 emperor penguins being secretly transferred to the aquarium.

There are a total of 17 penguin species in the world. The two major species inhabiting the Antarctic region are the Adelie penguin and the emperor penguin.

The emperor penguin is the largest of all the penguin species. It stands almost 1.2 meters tall and weighs 30 to 40 kilos. The emperor name derives from its regal appearance - a blackish-blue head adorned with large white and yellow ear patches.

On April 14, 2008, China’s 24th expedition team to the South Pole returned to Shanghai aboard the “Snow Dragon” Antarctic expedition ship. Team members

‘Academic Research’ China’s 24th expedition to the South Pole wrapped up its summer research in the Antarctic region in early April 2008 on schedule. Apart from fulfilling their expedition missions, the team members brought back over 20 captured emperor penguins to China.

Emperor penguins in the Antarctic region.

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NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

ENVIRONMENT

didn’t get off the ship when it was docked at the quay because they had to make preparations for the next day’s welcoming ceremony. When the night fell, staff members’ unloaded three large white containers from the ship before loading them onto three trucks which were then driven away from the port.

Two days later on April 16, at the Dalian Laohutan Ocean Park, NewsChina witnessed the arrival of the same three trucks from Shanghai. The vehicles’ license plates indicated that were registered in Liaoning Province, where Dalian is located in.

Around 6pm, they drove into the park and halted at the entrance to the Pole Aquarium. Around two dozen people came to unload the containers with COSCO (China Ocean Shipping Company) signs. The trucks’ refrigeration systems were kept running throughout the process. NewsChina also noticed that one man wore an eyecatching red uniform featuring the logo of the China South Pole Expedition Team.

It was later confirmed that this person was the team member in charge of feeding the penguins during the expedition.

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

According to the Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC), the official national body in charge of the management and organization of pole expeditions, a permit for capturing “20 emperor penguins and 100 penguin eggs” was granted to the 24th Antarctic expedition. The team was granted this permit on behalf of the Dalian Hutan Marine Animal Protection & Research Institute (DHMAI).

In its application for the permit, DHMAI claims that the institute, which is under the patronage of Dalian Municipal Urban Construction Administration Bureau, plans to conduct research on the endangered polar animals and their feeding and breeding.

The intriguing fact, however, is that this research institute is closely connected to Dalian Laohutan Pole Aquarium. The general manager of the aquarium Zhao Wenjing also happens to be the director of DHMAI.

A March of Life and Death The Oscar Award winning movie La

49

ENVIRONMENT Marche de L’Empererur (March of the Penguins), a big hit in China, beautifully captured the strong perseverance displayed by emperor penguins: hundreds of them huddled together in the stormy darkness during the severe winter season in Antarctica for over four months. Each year in summertime (January to March), they disperse into the oceans, traveling and foraging in groups. In early April, adult emperor penguins march hundreds of kilometers and return to the colonial nesting areas to mate and breed. In order to minimize heat loss, the males gather together in formations referred to as “turtles,” it is because of these densely packed shapes that the emperor penguins are able to survive some of the harshest storms on earth.

Yet despite their ability to withstand some of the planet’s most adverse conditions, the captured penguins would have been unlikely to have been prepared for the hard journey that awaited them to their new home in China.

A member from the 24th expedition team disclosed to NewsChina how the capture was set a few days before the Snow Dragon expedition ship departed from Zhongshan Antartic Research Station to Changcheng Station in late December, 2007.

The capture was carried out at “Penguin Island” (one colony formed by penguins) near Zhongshan Station. “It is not a real island, but the gathering area for penguins during their breeding time,” said the team member. “No more than 10 members of the team (24th expedition team) carried out

50

two captures and each time it lasted half a day.”

Another team member described the capturing process in detail. According to him, no particular equipment is needed, aside from a helicopter and a specially formulated technique. “Emperor penguins are big and strong and can move incredibly fast,” explained the team member. “We formed a circle around one penguin and one person stood in front of it to distract its attention; the others lurched forward from behind and pushed it onto the ice.” The penguins’ strength also posed a problem during the capture. “We had to grab them by the neck or we would miss them. Its immense strength could drag two persons down to the ground. Some emperor penguins didn’t give up when being pulled down, and tried to break away by sliding on their stomach.”

The captured emperor penguins were kept in three giant containers equipped with refrigeration systems aboard the Snow Dragon. On December 23, 2007, the Snow Dragon left Zhongshan Station for Changcheng Station, with the 20 emperor penguins aboard.

Ahead of them was a three-month long journey that would cover 15,000 nautical miles (27,780 km).

Unlike most penguins, which feed on surface krill, emperor penguins live on fish, squid, and crustaceans caught on long, deep pursuit dives. But during the three-month south-north journey, they were fed with small yellow croakers. “After being caught, a lot of them were nervous and panicked and refused to eat. So the stockman had to

force the penguin’s mouth open and stuff it with food.” In addition to feeding problems, penguins are naturally social animals, live in groups foraging, nesting together and are easily agitated when away from their peers.

On the ferry, the penguins were fed twice a day. The containers where they were kept were cleaned and sterilized everyday for fear of viruses. According to a shipman, a group of experts back in China, through satellite phone, provided instructions on feeding the penguins. Despite all these efforts, one of the penguins eventually died, according to the shipman.

Behind a Booming Market China’s scientific exploration in the South Pole began in the early 1980s. The first expedition team was sent to the Antarctic in 1984. Each year an expedition team is dispatched to the South Pole in November staying there until April the next year.

Individuals or organizations that want to conduct any forms of scientific research or other activities in the South Pole area are required to send in applications to the PRIC for approval.

During an interview with NewsChina, a managing figure from the PRIC confirmed the capture of emperor penguin by the 24th expedition team. He claimed, “The conduct was examined by experts before being approved and the permit abides by the Antarctic Treaty.” He also admitted that quite a number of domestic aquariums have handed in such applications to the PRIC. According to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (The “Madrid Protocol”), such permits shall be issued only in the following circumstances: to provide specimens for scientific study or scientific information and to provide specimens for museums, herbaria, zoological and botanical gardens, or other educational or cultural institutions or uses. China signed this protocol in 1991. The protocol came into force on January 14, 1998.

Because of strict regulations, South Pole animals are rarely seen in China. Many Chinese animal enthusiasts are therefore itching to see these rare animals and birds. In April 2002, a popular free exhibition of 10 AntarcNEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

ENVIRONMENT

Penguin "models" participate in a stage show in the Pole Aquarium at the Laohutan Ocean Park in Dalian on September 11, 2006. (Photo by Xinhua)

On April 16, at the Dalian Laohutan Ocean Park, NewsChina witnessed the arrival of three trucks carrying a suspected cargo of twenty penguins. (Photo by staff reporter Liu Zhen)

tic penguins (three king penguins and seven Papua Gentoo penguins) was held in Beijing, leading to long queues stretching over 100 meters from the exhibition.

Since the mid-1990s, the number of aquariums within China has increased dramatically. An insider said, “There are between 70 to 80 aquariums in China but in 1994, there were no more than a dozen.

Since 2002, some of the aquariums have set about acquiring North and South Pole animals, which has helped shove up the purchasing price sharply.” At Dalian Laohutan Polar Aquarium, NewsChina learnt that the cost of importing one emperor penguin was US$300,000.

A marketing staffer from Laohutan Polar Aquarium admitted that they are under heavy stress in terms of managing the aquarium. “So we need to attract more audiences by importing new species.”

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June 5, 2009

Another insider told the reporter that domestic aquariums have difficulty importing polar animals. “At present, purchasing from foreign countries is the major avenue.

The United States and Japan started capturing penguins 50 years ago, and they’ve had time to implement artificial breeding programs, whereas we haven’t. So we have to spend large amounts of money importing the species from other countries.”

The Antarctic Treaty The ecological system in the Antarctic is one of the most vulnerable on earth, which calls for protection by all countries. Polar animal protection is a world issue. Every year, animals in both polar regions such as polar bears, whales, seals and penguins are captured either legally or illegally.

The Antarctic Treaty, by far the most

inclusive worldwide regulations on restricting human activity in the Antarctic was first signed in 1959 by 12 countries.

To date, 46 countries have signed the treaty. By the end of 2006, the signatory countries had set up a total of 82 scientific research stations in the region, 47 of which are regular stations and 35 summer stations. Each year, 30 to 40 expedition teams go to the Antarctic.

According to Dr. Neil Gilbert, chairman of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) of the Antarctic Treaty System, the protocol doesn’t have any specific clauses decreeing limits on the number of the captured animals. He told NewsChina during a telephone interview that all the parties of the Antarctic Treaty have the right to decide on the capture of polar animals as long as they abide by the treaty articles. He added that the signatory countries should control the number of animals captured.

The Polar Conservation Organization (PCO) is a Brussels-based non-profit organization which focuses on conservation in both Polar Regions. Ms. Kris Molle, the Research and Liaisons officer of PCO, said, “It is quite necessary for the Antarctic Treaty, which regulates the international relations regarding the Antarctic, to be updated if the existing controls are insufficient.”

The two emperor penguins now on their “vacation tour” in Hefei have drawn large local audiences. A female employee of the Hefei Andover Oceanarium said that the two penguins are likely to extend their time beyond the original “one month” as scheduled. “Quite possibly they are here to stay permanently,” she explained.

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Members of a traditional dance troupe perform during a ceremony celebrating ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius and his instructions in Seoul on September 25, 2006. (Photo by Jung Yeon-JE/AFP )

Confucius to Become a Global Sage?

With numerous affiliates established in countries the world over, the Confucius Institute is of ten portrayed as part of China’s eff orts to project its sof t power globally.

By Staff Reporter Yu Xiaodong

J

im Knight, Britain’s minister of schools, after his visit to the Confucius Institute in Beijing in February, proposed “Confucian classrooms” be set up in English public schools in hopes that the classrooms would help boost exam results.

“There is a lot we can learn from Chinese culture and Confucius,” he said. “Confucius said that, alongside knowledge, you should have time to think.”

Although whether or not Knight’s proposal will become reality is still in question, many in China have considered his proposal as another success of the Confucius Institute.

It is estimated that over 40 million nonChinese are now studying the Chinese language worldwide. With China’s rising economy, the number is still on the rise. In the 52

United States alone, for example, the number of middle school Chinese language programs has tripled between 2003 and 2006.

Many have attributed this to the spread of the Confucius Institute, China’s equivalent to the British Council, Germany’s Goethe Institute and Spain’s Institute Cervantes. Headquartered in Beijing, the Confucius Institute aims to promote Chinese language and culture and support Chinese language teaching throughout the world via its international branches.

Under the management of the Chinese National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, commonly known as Hanban, 326 Confucius Institutes have been established in 81 countries since late 2004, at the rate of five every month. In the US, there are now 53 such institutes with

the latest one opened on April 16, 2009 at George Mason University.

“Different but in Harmony” The success of the Confucius Institute, in numerical terms, seems to lie in its flexibility. Unlike the British Council and other similar institutes that are independently managed, the Confucius Institute has been established through a variety of schemes, including direct involvement of Hanban, partnership with universities, and operation with special permission from Hanban.

However, the operations have come under fire. Many non-Chinese claim that the various arrangements that involve cooperation with educational institutions in host countries are part of China’s efforts to build NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

CULTURE up its soft power, and in the future, provide the Chinese government with a platform to project political influence.

Understandably, Chinese officials have repeatedly brushed aside these claims, on the ground that the notion of potential rivalry embedded in the criticism goes counter to Confucius’ teachings of tolerance and harmony.

“Why should cultural and language exchanges have to stick to a single approach?” said Xu Lin, head of Hanban, during the opening ceremony of the Confucius Institute at George Mason University in April.

“Confucius told us that we can be ‘different but in harmony.’ We have different cultures and may have different values, each is imbedded with its own wisdom, and we can learn from each other.”

The term “soft power” was first used by Harvard Professor Joseph Nye, who, given the context of the Cold War, defined it as “the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments.” The term originally had some connotations regarding geopolitical rivalry and had a hint of conspiracy theory. Now, with many countries pursuing cultural exchanges, it has become a rather neutral term.

“The so-called ‘soft power’ is only a hypothetical term made up and used by some scholars and politicians,” said Xu Lin. Zhang Xinsheng, the vice education minister, simply redefined soft power as the “harmless ability of attracting other people and being understood.”

Revival of Confucian Values The success of the Confucius Institute may not only reflect the increasing popularity of the Chinese language abroad, but also be a result of the revival of traditional values in China.

Confucius, born in 551 BC, may be the most revered philosopher and scholar in Chinese history. During his time, he traveled to different kingdoms to educate and spread his ideas of governing through benevolence.

Confucian values, in short, hold that society should be based on well-defined relationships between people both within a family and within the society, and in its essence lie the ideals of harmony and peace.

However, starting in the latter half of the NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

19th century, when China fell victim to Western powers, people attributed China’s weakness to Confucianism, among other factors. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), a campaign of criticizing Confucius and his doctrines was launched, further devastating traditional values. But, as China has gradually regained its strength in the last three decades, Chinese society is starting to look back and take pride in its traditional culture. Confucianism, more and more, is reemerging as the adhesive uniting the nation and the formula to improve the quality and values of Chinese citizens.

The Chinese government has recently started to pursue a strategy of more balanced development, rather than focusing heavily on the value of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is in line with Confucius’ teaching of staying in “middle way” or being moderate, as some interpret. The concepts of a “harmonious society” and a “harmonious world” were introduced by the government a couple of years ago, and have become the dictum in the country’s domestic and foreign policies. The ideal of harmony was further played up at the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where Confucius’s teachings on friendship and peace were quoted and the Chinese character “harmony” was highlighted.

Japan’s approach at promoting itself has also centered on traditional culture, but, at the same time, there is a sense that Japan also endorses a “cool Japan” image, concentrating on the spread of images from Japanese Animation, Manga, and music, all of which have enjoyed worldwide popularity. Under a new cultural promotion plan announced in 2007, Japan has tried to present its image as being a creative, cultured, cool society, backed by its art and architecture, and by industries such as fashion, food, toys and consumer electronics. India also has a wide variety of ways to showcase its soft power, including art, music, religion and Bollywood films.

In addition, Indian yoga has taken off as a popular form of meditation and exercise – in the US alone, there were 15.8 million practitioners in 2008, 6.9 percent of the US adult population.

Obviously, China is still at a disadvantage in terms of soft power when compared with Japan and India.

Right now, it seems that the strongest support for the build-up of China’s soft power still comes from its “hard power” – a quickly expanding economy and a huge market.

“The popularity of a language actually reflects a certain level of people’s expectations for a country,” said Vice Education Minister Zhang Xinsheng at a press conferTo Make Confucius More Attractive ence earlier this year.

A statue of Confucius at a flag raising ceremony on July 4, 2001, in Boston's “The reason that more America’s popular cul- Chinatown. (Photo by Michael Dwyer/AP) and more foreigners are ture has helped the US further its soft learning the Chinese language is not so power. In contrast, promoting Confucius much because we are promoting it as bevalues and the idea of harmony by the cause they have full confidence in China’s Chinese has centered on a rather profound development.” and lofty philosophy, making it less attracPopularity of a language will not autotive to everyday people, in particular, the matically translate into strong soft power, younger generation. however. Strong soft power depends on “Rather than focusing on profound fully developed “soft” industries. philosophy, which is beyond the ordinary The Ministry of Education expects that people, China should take a more simple there will be approximately 100 million nonand practical approach,” said Professor Li Chinese worldwide learning Chinese by Ping from University of International Busi- 2010, and it plans to set up 500 Confucius ness and Economics in an interview with Institutes globally by 2010 and 1,000 by NewsChina.

2020.

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CULTURE

How Great is the Great Wall?

A recently completed mapping study of China’s Great Wall, the largest historical structure on the face of the planet, has revealed it to be 3,000 kilometers longer than popularly thought.

By Staff Reporter Huang Aihe

H

ow great is the Great Wall?

The answer, according to a recently completed joint mapping study by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM), is 8,851.8 kilometers.

The figure, officially released on April 18, trumps even the most embellished of former estimates. Running across much of northern China, the length of the wall was widely believed to be somewhere in the region of 5,000 kilometers.

First constructed in the fifth century BC as a means of defending against incursions from nomadic tribes, the wall has since been rebuilt, expanded and maintained for the greater part of the last 2,000 years.

The joint survey, the most comprehensive of its kind ever carried out, focused exclu54

sively on the parts of the wall that were built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The Missing 3,000 km Prior to the study’s completion, the exact length of the Great Wall was often quoted as 5,700 kilometers, a figure that was first calculated during the reign of the Ming Emperor Wanli (1573-1620).

“As a matter of fact, the Great Wall’s length hasn’t increased by 3,000 kilometers,” said Chai Xiaoming, deputy director of the Cultural Heritage Research Institute of SACH, in an interview with NewsChina. “Before our survey, there was no definite figure for the exact length of the Great Wall. All we had were some rough numbers. The usual figure quoted is 5,000 kilometers all the way from the Shanghaiguan

Pass in the east to the Jayuguan Pass in the west. Unknown to most people though, another 1,000-kilometer section, including the eastern end at Hushan Mountain, is actually in Liaoning Province.”

Several other factors, most notably the disparity between ancient and modern day mapping techniques, also help explain the supposed 3,000-kilometer increase.

Firstly, the original calculation, first conducted during the reign of the Ming Emperor Wanli, did not include those non-manmade parts of the wall formed by trenches and a combination of the Wall itself and the difficult to access terrain.

Secondly, the actual length of the steep slopes across which the Wall runs were also taken into account in the latest survey, while in the past only the straight-line distances were calculated.

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June 5, 2009

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(Graphics by Ye Xueming)

own physical limitations. But this time, we studied video material of the Great Wall before going into the field for confirmation,” said Zhao Yousong, senior engineer from the SBSM. With the help of GPS technology, the location and height of the Wall in each section was accurately recorded. Back in the lab, all the data collected in the field was fed into the computer to form three-dimensional images of the Great Wall, accurate to the nearest millimeter.

Beyond the Ming Great Wall

A beacon tower in a section of the Ming built Great Wall, inside of Wuwei County, Gansu Province. (CFP Photo)

Thirdly, the Great Wall also branches off into a number of divergent routes in many places. Each of these routes was included in the latest calculation.

While finally, a total of 496 sections of the Great Wall were newly discovered in the latest survey.

The mapping study, which began in 2006, is part of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage’s Great Wall 10-Year Protection Plan.

In 2005, domestic media raised concern over the continued deterioration of long stretches of the wall. The central government, keen to preserve the historic landmark, urged the relevant departments to do something about the Great Wall protection.

“Formerly, when we were doing a field investigation, our field of vision was restricted by natural topographical barriers and our NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

The latest survey covered only the Ming built Great Wall. Sections constructed in other dynasties were not included.

Construction of the Great Wall began as early as the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), and according to Luo Zhewen, 85, the country’s leading Great Wall researcher, “if all the sections built in different dynasties were added together, the length could reach 50,000 kilometers.”

The Ming Great Wall is the youngest, the best preserved and subsequently, the most well known.

Luo Zhewen explained, “The Great Wall is a very intricate system. It runs through almost all the provinces and autonomous regions in the north of China and its construction lasted for 2,000 years.”

The history of the wall is as complex as it is long.

During the Warring States Period (475221 B.C.), construction of the wall began as a means for the then six northern kingdoms to help protect against invading nomadic cavalry.

Some two thousand years later in the

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), a dynasty themselves founded by the nomadic Manchus, the rulers deemed it no longer necessary to continue with the construction of the Great Wall. In response to a request for assistance to help restore dilapidated sections of the wall, the Qing Emperor Kangxi (reigned 1661-1722) asked if those preceding dynasties most active in building the Great Wall were free from nomadic invasion. He went on to say that the Manchu cavalry stormed southward, routed the Ming Monarchy’s resistance and established the Qing Dynasty, despite the existence of the Great Wall. The emperor cited an old saying that “unity of will is an impregnable fortress” and stressed the importance of winning over the hearts of people. The 2,000-year long Great Wall construction ended in the Qing Dynasty.

The State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping will now continue their investigations in order to map sections of the wall built during the Qin (221 -206 BC) and Han (206 BC - 220 AD) dynasties. It is hoped that the sections built in the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) will be investigated and measured by 2010, a tough task since many sections are hard to recognize due to centuries of deterioration.

Sorting-out of the mountain of materials and data also poses a newer more modern challenge. According to Zhao Yousong, the next stage involves processing all the data and statistics into easily readable diagrams or photos, before making it freely available on a specially designed website.

(Translated by staff reporter Shao Xinfang) 55

CULTURE

English Voices in Chinese TV In little under ten years, China’s English language media has developed out of relative obscurity to become a well-known international brand, and as the expansion continues, so too do the number of foreign faces appearing on Chinese TV.

By Staff Reporters Chris Gauthier and Stephen George

I

f you were looking for English language content on Chinese television 10 years ago, you would quickly have exhausted your options. You would barely have seen a foreign face in Chinese TV non-fiction programs, unless you came across the tall, gap-toothed Da Shan (Mark Rowswell), a proficient Mandarin speaker, performing for laughs.

But, like nearly everything else in China, things have changed and grown. While the flourishing economy has caught the world’s attention, the development of the Chinese television media has gone relatively unnoticed. Where there was once only one half hour a day of English-language programming 10 years ago, China now has several television media organizations broadcasting in English around the clock. The most well-known and farthest reaching is Stateowned China Central Television International (CCTV 9), China’s English voice, broadcasting throughout China and via satellite to more than 2.3 million subscribers around the world.

To Go beyond China Unlike most other sectors in the Chinese economy, however, the media has struggled to shake off its image as a staid, State-run industry.

“Two or three years ago, for example, stories about the top leaders would automatically go to the top [of a news broadcast],” explained CCTV 9’s main news anchor 56

Edwin Maher. “But these days, that’s not always the case.”

Since arriving in China in 2003 to work as an English coach with China Radio International, a radio station broadcasting in English 24 hours a day, and CCTV, Maher, a veteran journalist and TV weatherman in Australia, has witnessed the transformation of the media first hand.

“Here in China, the media is growing,” Maher said during a recent interview with NewsChina. “It’s developing, not just because it’s being somewhat freed up, it’s growing technically as well.”

After a few months of working as a vocal coach, Maher was approached by CCTV 9 to anchor its daily news broadcasts. His career in television broadcasting and willingness to be a part of China’s rising media industry launched Maher into an entirely new career as a Chinese television personality.

As the first non-Asian news presenter at CCTV, he faced a great deal of challenges and he was not without his detractors.

Former CCTV 9 News Anchor James Aitken

Some western viewers criticized Maher for what they perceived as “selling out,” and becoming a Chinese government “mouthpiece.” But there were also a great deal of supporters, from both China and around the world, who praised Maher for his smooth spoken style, and his courage to take on his position.

With the elegantly turned out Maher, who speaks English with a neat Kiwi accent, at the helm of CCTV International’s news broadcasts four times a day, CCTV’s efforts to cultivate a more professional look and western viewership were well underway.

In broader terms, his presence represented a step in the Chinese’s government’s push to have its voice heard in English, spoken by a native speaker.

“Within CCTV 9, there has often been the question, ‘Are we catering for a domestic audience, or are we catering for the audience outside of China?” Maher said rhetorically, “We are definitely wanting to go beyond China in a big way.”

Such vaulting ambition requires an increase in personnel, and so CCTV’s expansion has been followed by an inevitable drive to recruit talent. Scottish-born weather presenter Halla Mohieddeen first appeared on the station in 2006 after a CCTV televised advertisement caught her attention.

“I hadn’t planned to work in the Chinese media” explained the 29 year-old. “But the opportunity seemed too good to pass up.”

Mohieddeen soon found herself at home in front of the green screen weather map. ApNEWSCHINA

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Leading CCTV 9 News Anchor Edwin Maher

pearing four times a day after the station’s half-hour news bulletins, Mohieddeen receives regular fan mail from across the globe and is often stopped in the street.

“Being a girl obviously helps, and maybe being Scottish has something to do with it,” added Mohieddeen. “People seem to take more notice of a female face, especially when they have an unusual accent, perhaps it makes them less critical.”

Long Way to Go Criticism is a contentious subject among many of the more preeminent western faces currently appearing on Chinese TV. Despite CCTV 9’s best efforts to modernize, many of its Chinese-based foreign viewers, of whom there does not seem to be many, continue to view it with a mixture of bemusement and suspicion. David Fitcher, an Australian national currently working in Beijing described CCTV 9 as “wholly laughable,” while 27-year old Los Angeles native Rachael Winter, went further, describing the station as “embarrassing.”

Former CCTV 9 anchor, James Aitken appeared to compound this view, “One thing about some people at CCTV 9 is that they don’t really know how to get their message across, in this case to a foreign audience.

Foreign viewers and listeners are extremely sophisticated about the content. If there is innate bias, they’ll pick it up right away, and instantly the station will lose credibility.”

The 43-year-old Aitken, a Canadian NEWSCHINA

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broadcast journalist with over 20 years of experience in the industry, arrived in China in 2004. According to Aitken, CCTV 9 still has a long way to go before it can become a respected media source. “There might be a sense that CCTV 9 has been a failed experiment. But as CCTV gets better at understanding how it can promote its aims, but much more intelligently, and in a more market driven way, then it’s going to get further, at least with foreign viewers.”

For many of CCTV’s skeptical viewers, however, there is still much to be done before it is completely credible.

Chinese audiences, which currently make up the bulk of CCTV 9’s viewing audience, have a slightly different view of English speakers on Chinese television. Liu Chen Lin, a 24-year-old student in Beijing commented, “From what I’ve seen, it seems the news about China has been relatively well reported and level-headed.”

The criticisms, however, have not stopped other foreigners from pursuing careers in Chinese broadcasting.

And since plans are already underway at CCTV to expand its foreign-language networks to include Arabic and Russian stations, in addition to its CCTV’s French, Spanish and English coverage, more than 70 new positions will be created, which will bring the number of foreign employees at CCTV from the current number, just over 30, to over 100.

Some more market-driven Englishlanguage Televisions such as Blue Ocean

Network, China Intercontinental Communications Center, and Guangzhou Television English, have also gained prominence and ambition in recent years, resulting in the need for more foreign faces.

Tom Mackenzie, 27, left London for Beijing in 2007 to explore what he felt was the next big story. Mackenzie started as a print journalist, but his ambition to work in broadcast media soon landed him a dream job as a presenter with Blue Ocean Network, a Hong Kong-registered, private news and documentary television channel. Blue Ocean broadcasts in English to China, the US, and a number of other markets.

“We see ourselves as filling the gap between the likes of CCTV 9 on the one hand, and CNN on the other,” said Mackenzie.

“I personally think there’s so much that’s missed, glossed over or misrepresented by both western and State-run broadcasters.”

When discussing the future of China’s burgeoning media, Mackenzie sounds a cautious note of optimism. “I’d like to think that in the future, the government will have more confidence to let the China’s English language media continue to evolve. If that happens, the China story will tell itself, and there’ll be less skepticism on both sides.”

“You know, six years ago, these things would never have been thought possible,” concluded Edwin Maher. “If it continues like this, I can’t imagine it will revert or change. I’m sure there will continue to be big changes. I can’t imagine that it will ever close up again.”

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Nanjing: Resistance and Redemption Director Lu Chuan’s big budget portrayal of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, “City of Life and Death,” has divided critics over its modern interpretation of what continues to be a sensitive topic. Despite the controversy, the film has proved a box office success and helped to spark a renewed interest in what for many remains China’s darkest chapter.

By Staff Reporter Shao Xinfang

T

wo separate movies dealing with the 1937 Battle of Nanjing (commonly referred to as the Nanjing Massacre), Chinese director Lu Chuan's “City of Life and Death” and the Chinese-German joint production “John Rabe,” opened near simultaneously in theaters throughout China in April.

With his previous movies “The Missing 58

Gun” (2002) and “Keke Xili: Mountain Patrol” (2004), Lu Chuan received both Chinese and international acclaim for his ability to provide fresh perspectives on wellknown issues.

His latest war epic “City of Life and Death,” otherwise known as “Nanjing!

Nanjing!” is no different. The film focuses on the 1937 Battle of Nanjing, when the

invading Japanese army occupied the city of Nanjing, the then capital of the Republic of China, and the subsequent aftermath.

Chinese records show more than 300,000 people, including both disarmed soldiers and civilians, perished at the hands of the Japanese occupiers.

In the first 10 days of its release, “City of Life and Death” raked in over 100 million NEWSCHINA

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A still from the movie City of Life and Death

yuan (US$14million) in box office revenue.

The Director’s Odyssey The Nanjing Massacre is widely regarded throughout China as one of the darkest chapters in Chinese history, and the topic remains a sore point in China-Japan relations. Many Chinese citizens continue to maintain that Japan has not fully recognized its wartime atrocities, while some Japanese historians and government officials frequently claim that the massacre has been exaggerated or even fabricated for propaganda purposes.

As a result, the production of another movie on the subject (dozen of similarly themed films already exist) challenged the wisdom of director Lu Chuan.

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June 5, 2009

“All I wanted, in the beginning, was to shoot a movie telling the world how Chinese people fought against the invaders. I hadn’t expected it could be so difficult,” said 38-year-old Lu, who had spent four years at a Nanjing based military academy before entering the movie industry.

Lu Chuan’s first challenge was to get approval for the project. But this seemed an impossible task, not only because the sensitiveness of the subject matter required approval from the movie administration authorities and the Communist Party of China Central Committee’s Publicity Department and Foreign Ministry, but also because four years ago, when Lu came up with the idea of shooting the film, there were already four or five Nanjing movies waiting in the queue for approval.

“If they’d all got the green light, there would have been at least four Nanjing Massacre stories going to the big screen simultaneously,” said Lu. According to Lu, he tried everything to tell the relevant organizations why he wanted to do the movie. It was not until March 2007, after four months of painstaking lobbying, and with the help of some highranking officials, that his project finally got permission to begin shooting.

The sourcing of accurate historical material turned out to be another hard nut for the director and his team to crack. Lu Chuan was taken aback by the scarcity of research on the Nanjing Massacre. Without a sound and effective record system 72 years ago, the investigation and calculation of the victims was difficult and some historical facts became vague. To obtain a thorough understanding of the history, Lu took to locking himself away in a villa in rural Beijing for several months. It was during this time that he began the difficult task of shifting through mountains of historical material, including piles of Japanese soldiers’ personal accounts and diaries.

After eight months of shooting and 16 film edits, the movie was screened in cinemas across the country in April.

and their expressions,” said Lu at the film’s opening premiere.

Instead of just exclusively concentrating on the brutality and killings, which are known to everyone, the movie gives a panoramic view of the atrocities and the rescue along three independent storylines. The first tells the story of the soldiers involved in street-to-street combat. The second gives a poignant account of the fate of civilian survivors and the actions of the people who risked their lives to save the civilians. While the third focuses on the redemption of a Japanese soldier, who amid the atrocities committed by his fellow soldiers, shows a rare level of human decency.

With the unfolding of the three stories, Lu Chuan attempts to portray a variety of Chinese characters: a Chinese soldier Lu Jianxiong who sheds his last drop of blood in the defense of the city, a brave young woman teacher Jiang Shuyun who tries to save others regardless of her own safety, a self-sacrificing prostitute trading her body and life for food, clothing and fuel for other refugees and a weak-kneed clerk Tang Tianxiang who tries his best to protect his family.

For a 130-minute movie, however, three storylines, none of which overlap or interweave, are too great an undertaking, and as a result appear underdeveloped.

Likewise, to depict four particular Chinese personalities proves a heavy task for the movie. Very often in the movie, one scene hurriedly shifts to another before the audience can fully appreciate the heroism displayed by the person in that scene.

Movie critic Zhou Liming said that although compared with many movies with similar themes, noticeable improvements are evident in “City of Life and Death” especially in terms of characterization, some of the characters still lack substance. For example, Chinese soldier Lu Jianxiong, and a number of heroines, such as the teacher Jiang Shuyun and Tang Tianxiang’s wife seem to be little more than stereotypes.

Particular Faces

In the monochrome movie, Lu tries to approach the massacre from the perspectives of different people, most notably, Japanese soldier Kakokawa. Having joined the Imperial Japanese Army out of loyalty to the

“When people think of that period of history, we don’t want only dry figures to come to mind. We hope people will see real faces

The Controversial Fresh Angle

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CULTURE Emperor, Kakokawa experiences the shocks and pains of war, eventually committing suicide in Nanjing.

“In the Nanjing tragedy, the Chinese and Japanese are like the two sides of a coin, and the story wouldn’t be complete in the absence of either,” Lu said.

Unlike previous movies based on this subject, Lu’s film portrays the Japanese soldier as an ordinary human being. From the very beginning through to the end, Kakokawa displays disorientation and hesitation mixed with unspeakable fear and guilt.

The soldier is presented to the audience as an innocent, sensitive and unsophisticated young man, falling in love with a comfort woman during his first sexual encounter and foot dragging when he is ordered to slaughter or humiliate Chinese.

Unable to bear the torment stemming from the atrocities committed by his own fellow countrymen and himself, the soldier finally shoots himself dead. “To live might be harder than to die.” He explains out loud before pulling the trigger.

Nonetheless, this is by no means a typical Japanese invader, historical records and materials prove that there were few Japanese soldiers who showed sufficient remorse for their excesses, let alone committing suicide for their part in the atrocities.

Rarely in any other Chinese films are Japanese soldiers portrayed as human beings and not as monsters. In Lu’s film, however, the Japanese soldiers demonstrate aspects of ordinary human beings - making a pot of tasty soup, taking a bath and missing their beloved ones back home.

Lu Chuan’s attempts at this are rather

Director Lu Chuan.

(Photo by staff reporter Zhen Hongge)

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praise worthy. “Demonizing your enemy is insulting yourself,” explained Lu. “We must face the question squarely: who defeated us 72 years ago? Otherwise we can never learn lessons from the massacre.”

However, many movie viewers are puzzled by questions like, “Why did these ordinary people, many of whom could not bring themselves to slaughter a chicken, become monsters when they put on uniforms?” The critics and viewers go further to ask: “Why does Kakokawa manage to retain a bit of human decency and treat the Chinese victims leniently? How can he do it amid the excesses committed by his countrymen?”

Pan Zhichang, a professor from Nanjing University, remarked that Lu Chuan’s attempts to portray Japanese soldiers as human beings prove to be meaningless as no answers to these questions are supplied in the film.

Reinterpretation of History It seems that Nanjing Massacre is a subject matter that fixates Chinese filmmakers: “Massacre in Nanjing” (1987), “Don’t Cry, Nanjing” (1995), “Qixia Temple 1937” (2005), are just a few of the more well known efforts.

Most of the previous films merely focus on Chinese suffering and often attempt to draw sympathy from the audience. This, however, does not work anymore in Lu Chuan’s opinion. Lu tries to tell the audience that the Chinese victims were not cowards. According to Lu, “It is their selfsalvation and toughness that have propped

up the Chinese as a nation.”

In early 2005, a foreign film company offered Lu a Nanjing-Massacre screenplay but he turned it down due to the screenplay’s focus on German national John Rabe, “I resolved to showcase the resistance put up by the Chinese and their self salvation,” Lu explained, “Over the past 70 years, all we know is that 300,000 people perished in Nanjing and that John Rabe, a German businessman, saved thousands of Chinese civilians during the massacre.”

In detailing how it was not just John Rabe but many ordinary Nanjing citizens who fought against heavy odds, Lu Chuan focuses on the Chinese resistance and at the same time, as a technique of contrast, he shows John Rabe’s inability to protect Chinese refugees in the unsafe safety zone.

In the safety zone scene, 100 or so Chinese women, in an attempt to save others, put up their hands and volunteer when Japanese soldiers come for women, while John Rabe, almost choked with sorry and pain, stands crying. This is quickly followed by one of the most impressive episodes in the movie. Having been blamed by his superior that his aid to the Chinese refugees has harmed relations between Germany and Japan, John Rabe is forced to leave China.

Just before he makes his exit from Nanjing in a waiting car, he turns around, kneels down, and makes an emotional apology to the assembled Chinese crowd.

By depicting Chinese people’s resistance and self-salvation, the director tries to send the message: Although Rabe makes great contributions to saving Chinese civilians, his deeds do not outshine the heroism demonstrated by the Chinese people.

However, not all people agree with the new interpretation of this young director.

Professor Tang Daoluan, Curator of the Nanjing University Archive and Director of John Rabe and International Safety Zone Memorial Hall was invited to the movie’s premiere but left abruptly in protest against the way Lu Chuan “misinterprets Mr. Rabe’s role and undervalues his contribution.”

Divided they may be, critics appear unanimous in their view that it is the film’s undeniably modern interpretation of history that allows it to stand out from other movies of the same subject.

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

CULTURE

Midi Music Festival. (Photo by staff reporter Zhen Hongge)

China Rocks!

Af ter years in financial obscurity, live rock music is at last becoming big business in China. This year alone, a number of large-scale outdoor events have reinforced the formerly marginal subculture as a serious commercial industry.

By Yuan Ye

I

n the north, the Strawberry Music Festival blasted off in Beijing. In the east, the Midi Festival took over Zhenjiang. And in the southwest, Zebra Music Festival rocked Chengdu. China, for the first time in history, saw an outburst of rock festivals - three large-scale weekend events held simultaneously from May 1 to 3, forming a triangle of rock covering almost half the nation.

Although the national “golden week” holiday, commencing on May 1, was shortened from one week to three days compared to previous years, it appeared to do little to dent rock fans’ enthusiasm for outdoor NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

events.

Strawberry Music Festival, a new, threeday festival held on the outskirts of Beijing, attracted approximately 10,000 festival goers each day. Midi Music Festival, China’s most established rock music festival, was for first time in its ten year history relocated outside of Beijing to Zhenjiang, where it attracted an audience of 25,000 over three days — way beyond its own expectations.

But most surprising was the Zebra Music Festival in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, which claimed to have hosted an audience of 150,000 in three days.

It seems the festivals were in competition

with each other for bands and audiences this year. And, with additional gigs happening concurrently in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities, this year’s schedule was the most ambitious yet, a situation that left many bands crisscrossing the country by air in order to perform during their scheduled slots.

Rise and Fall Although the first Chinese rock festival was started just ten years ago as a non-profit labor of love among a handful of then minor bands and devoted audience members, fes61

CULTURE support and recognition from the mainstream media.

Moreover, as the first musicians utilizing modern Western instruments, such as the electric guitar, since the founding of People’s Republic of China, Cui Jian and his colleagues were slow to truly master them, both technically and on an emotional level.

This early period was followed by what many now recognize as the golden years of Chinese rock ‘n’ roll – between 1992 to 1995, a new wave of artists including Zhang Chu, Dou Wei and He Yong, the so-called “Three Talents of the Magic Stone” (Magic Stone was a Taiwanese music label), achieved previously unknown levels of commercial success.

In 1994, the “Three Talents” sold a combined total of 1 million records (including an estimated 400,000 pirated copies). In addition, “Black Leopard,” the then biggest band in China, sold 1.5 million albums (including pirated copies) during the 1990s.

However, most of these artists soon lost inspiration and creativity, mostly after the release of their debut albums. Almost none of their following albums garnered the same success. Meanwhile, pirated tapes and CDs exploded in the mid-90s, an impact that dented the already vulnerable rock scene.

The rise of piracy combined with the continued influx of foreign rock bands and albums to China, temporarily pulled the plug on Chinese rock ‘n’ roll.

The Pioneer Festival

Hawkers sell T-shirts and CDs outside of the 4th annual Midi Music Festival, October 1, 2003. (Photo by Cai Ming)

tivals have since grown rapidly to become a promising enterprise for bands, sponsors, fans, and even government departments.

Rock music represents a subculture that has been around in China for many years, and, along with its live performances, has finally begun to emerge as a financially viable industry.

Back in 1986, the now iconic Chinese godfather of rock, Cui Jian signaled the birth of Chinese rock with his triumphant 62

signature tune “Nothing to My Name.”

Delivered during the idealistic atmosphere of the early reform period, the breakthrough hit, a mix of alien rock sounds combined with fragments from traditional Chinese music, helped rock music gain a large following.

Commercial success, however, proved more elusive. Besieged by commercial pop music from Hong Kong and Taiwan, rock music was hamstrung by a lack of official

It was around 1993 that Zhang Fan started his Midi Music School, one of the earliest modern music schools in China. “I gave up the dream of being a rock star and started the school,” said Zhang Fan, Dean of Midi.

“In 2000, we launched the first Midi Music Festival in the main hall of our school,” Zhang Fan said, excited by the memory. “It was merely for fun, and to give our student bands an opportunity to play a show.” The first Midi Festival did not aim to make any money. It charged no entrance fee and even provided free beer. Although it only had 2,000 people in the audience over two days, it laid the foundation for live music festivals in China.

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

CULTURE

Young music fans rock out. (Photo by staff reporter Liu Zhen)

During the following three years, the Midi Music Festival was held for free on the campus of the Midi School. The increase in audience numbers in the three years from 2,000 to 5,000 per day led to the decision in 2004 to take the festival off the campus and into a large park in Beijing.

“That was the first year we started to sell tickets.” Zhang said. And also, that was the first year Midi gained financial sponsorship from advertisers. Without a box office income, Midi did not pay the bands and musicians in its first years. It started to pay them in 2005, although the festival still made no money. It broke even for the first time in 2006 and finally made a profit in 2007. That year, Midi lasted for 4 days, with 5 stages and 800 musicians performing to an estimated audience of 800,000.

New Business Booming?

Star Live, a live rock venue founded in 2006, sold over 1,000 tickets for a May 6, 2009 gig by Taiwanese indie singer Chen Shanni. The ticket prices ranged from US$26 to USD$70. The box office take for Chen’s concert that night was roughly US$29,000 to US$44,000.

The live rock music scene is a booming market, yet rock music remains an underground movement in China. Most rock bands and musicians, no matter how wellknown they are in the underground music scene, are still strangers to mainstream audiences. Of course, selling CDs does not make them much money at all. So what could these musicians rely on for a living, or to make a better life for themselves?

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

A rock music festival in Beijing’s Chaoyang Park. (Photo by staff reporter Zhen Hongge)

Performing live was an option.

The earliest live rock venues emerged in Beijing in the late 1990s. The number of these venues increased slowly; there were only about five to ten in the early 2000s.

But with the opening of more professional venues like Star Live and MAO Live in recent years, the market seems to be reviving. There are now more than 15 venues and live-houses dedicated to rock music in Beijing supporting an estimated 1000 local bands and artists.

“It has become totally market-oriented,” said Shen Lihui, the founder and CEO of Modern Sky Entertainment, the main sponsor of the Strawberry Music Festival.

Founded in 1997, Modern Sky has released more than 100 albums. It also has some 30 bands and musicians presently under its banner. But it is difficult to tell whether these bands’ and musicians’ albums make any money or not.

Even the company’s main income does not come from their music business. “Most of our income comes from ‘value-added brand’ business,” said Shen, referring to the graphic design work, book publishing, animation and video business carried out by his company. “We manage our brand well.

Income from ‘value-added brand’ business was 80 percent of our total income in 2003 and 2004,” he added.

But all of Modern Sky’s bands and musicians are frequent live performers in Beijing.

Some of them also frequently tour around China, America and Europe. Shen knows that there is this market demand for live rock in China, as there is everywhere else in the world. Therefore he took rock festivals

into his consideration in early 2005, when Midi was still losing money. But his project began in 2007, to mark the 10th anniversary of the company, using the name Modern Sky Music Festival.

It was no small investment. Modern Sky has only held three rock festivals, including this year’s Strawberry Festival. Shen said they spent several million yuan on each.

“The biggest investment went into stage production and paying musicians,” Shen explained. “The trend means that musicians’ payment will become bigger and bigger proportions of the investment.

The first Modern Sky Festival had an audience of 40,000 and a box office take of US$360,000. In its second year, 2008, the audience increased to 50,000 and the income went up to US$430,000. Shen said they still suffered a 20 percent loss in the first year. In the second year, however, they made a 5 percent profit. “But in total, it’s still a loss,” he said with a helpless smile.

But Shen is obviously ambitious. Strawberry Music Festival is not a replacement for the Modern Sky Music Festival. Instead, he’s planning to have them both every year, one in the Spring, one in the Autumn.

For many people, going to live rock concerts has become a lifestyle choice. This also applies to rock festivals. It is also a way for bands to really show their prowess and ability, and a way for listeners to experience the real power of the music.

“There is still huge room for development and growth,” said Shen. He believes that the market for live rock shows in China still needs time to mature. “Maybe in three to five years.”

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COLUMN

A Step Forward in Safeguarding Human Rights

By Li Dun

The decision to recognize and protect human rights is one of the most simple and integral of human values. Since the launch of the reform and opening-up process in the late 1970s, China has made many significant steps to safeguard this value, but there is still progress to be made in order to carry out the principles guaranteed in the Constitution.

W

ith “The National Action Plan on Human Rights” issued on April 13, the Chinese government has made an important step forward in ensuring the protection of human rights. The plan outlines several key areas in which the government will focus over the next two years to safeguard the rights of Chinese people, including the rights to have health care, education, social security, personal liberty, religious faith, information, and a fair trial and humane detention for the accused, in addition to the rights to express oneself, to participate in political and social events, to know what the government is doing, and the rights of individual workers and farmers.

The action plan stresses that while undertaking the process to safeguard human rights, the Chinese government acknowledges both the universality of human rights and China’s actual conditions.

But what does “the universality of human rights” mean? Using a more familiar language, we could say, the universal application of the idea to “put people first,” and indiscriminately acknowledge, respect and protect the basic rights and personal dignity of every person on the earth. Approbation of an individual’s rights means that nothing else is placed above that person’s rights or dignity. This is in line with the basic principles of the United Nations’ “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” adopted in 1948, and with the Chinese government’s human rights action plan, which states that the government will adhere to those same principles.

What does “the actual conditions of human rights in China” mean? It is the way people think and behave, as well as how a nation’s structures and institutions have developed over history.

Almost 160 years ago, China’s doors were forced open by western powers and the country was reluctantly put on the road to modernization. Almost 60 years ago, China secluded itself from the ongoing confrontation between the US and the USSR for world supremacy during the Cold War, and instigated a planned economy, spawning unique social institutional structures. Starting nearly 30 years ago, China gradually began adjusting its process of development, and returned to the mainstream of the international community through its opening-up reforms and through becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

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Over the years, China has set a number of goals regarding its market economy, rule of law, and later, sustainable development, a harmonious society, and a harmonious relationship between humans and nature.

During the 60-years of the People’s Republic of China, we have experienced a period when “class struggle” was a top concern, a period when the major focus was economic development, and finally, a period when “putting people first,” became an important topic. There were periods of time when the words “human rights” were not found in the social vocabulary and the equality of all people was not acknowledged. In 2004, 56 years after the UN’s “Declaration” was drafted, the phrase “the State respects and safeguards human rights” was written into the Chinese Constitution. In 1997 and 1998, China signed “The International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights” (31 years after it was initiated), and “The International Convention on Civil Rights and Political Rights” (32 years after it was initiated) respectively. This year’s action plan on human rights is the first of its kind to set achievable goals within a timeframe of two years.

To choose to recognize and protect human rights or not is a choice based on values. Since reform and opening-up was launched in the 1970s, it has taken a long time for China to include language in its Constitution that explicitly protects human rights, and there is still a long way to go in order to carry out the principles guaranteed in the Constitution. As Premier Wen Jiabao mentioned, the reforms must confront the “institutional barriers” – the deeply-rooted mentalities and behaviors that materialized out of the planned economic system. In addition, the vested interests taking shape in the transition from the planned economy to market economy and the inertia of people’s reliance on old model of development pose institutional barriers.

The current human rights action plan covers merely two years. It is my hope that the formulation of the next action plan will involve more public participation and the actions that are proposed will bring about greater progress in guaranteeing and protecting human rights in China.

(The author is a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.)

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

COLUMN

The Economic Straightjacket

By Dang Guoying

China has long invested a high degree of importance on f rugality, but through tightening the belt China has become a nation of high accumulators. This accumulation is tilted in favor of the rich and the capital, including State-owned capital, at the expense of ordinary laborers who work long hours and receive low pay.

T

he healthy development of the Chinese economy is being severely restricted. A combination of low labor costs, a large foreign exchange surplus, and the uneven concentration of wealth among the country’s richest 5 percent have combined to form a type of “economic straightjacket” from which the economy has yet to escape.

Low labor costs and overtime work have been the secret behind the prosperity of many Chinese businesses. For example, on the suburbs of Beijing, workers in numerous gasoline stations are required to work 24 hours a day and are only permitted to nap at night. On average, they have to work more than 75 hours a week, but are paid an hourly wage of just 5 yuan (US$0.73) or less. The situation in the Yangtze River Delta region is no better. According to my surveys, in industries with a higher degree of competition, working hours tend to be longer for all workers, white collar and blue collar alike.

Actually, overtime work will inevitably lead to a high unemployment rate. It is quite clear that if the whole labor force works two extra hours each day, about 25 percent of those currently employed would lose their jobs. In turn, an increase in the levels of unemployment will create a more competitive labor market and force down wages.

Take 2007. Payments for wage earners throughout the country accounted for a mere 36 percent of China’s GDP. This is one of the major reasons for weak domestic demand.

Furthermore, a low labor income also leads to a huge trade surplus and, in turn, a foreign exchange surplus.

Many people inside of China are proud of the country’s mammoth foreign exchange reserves. But the huge volume of forex reserves means net exports and the issuance of the same amount of Renminbi. As a result, inflationary pressure begins to mount, which forces the central bank to raise interest rates.

The combination of these two factors sets in motion a vicious cycle. As domestic labor costs become substantially lower, exports increase sharply resulting in economic growth becoming more and more dependent on the overseas market; to secure the overseas market, the labor cost is brought down further which in turn shrinks the domestic market while increasing dependence on overseas markets. The straightjacket becomes tighter and tighter.

The third factor helping to tighten this straightjacket is the uneven distribution of wealth.

After three decades of reform and opening-up, a significant NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

number of wealthy people have emerged within China. The rich, who account for roughly 5 percent of the whole population, receive approximately 30 percent of the country’s total income. However, no property, donation or inheritance taxes are levied on the rich.

This makes it very easy for them to pass on their wealth to their children and children’s children, leading to the gap between the rich and poor becoming ever wider over time. Such a situation will eventually lead to a variety of both economic and social problems.

China has long invested a high degree of importance on frugality, but through tightening the belt China has become a nation of high accumulators. This accumulation is tilted in favor of the rich and the capital, including State-owned capital, at the expense of ordinary laborers who receive low pay and work long hours.

Theoretically, the nation’s high foreign exchange surplus should lead to a big increase in imports. However, this is not the case in China where the country’s purchasing power is weakened due to low income levels and high interest rates.

Indeed, we have been using our human and material resources to support the spending of other countries. It’s time for us to wake up, and to shake off the straightjacket.

I have noticed that relevant government departments have sent a proposal to the State Council, urging the reform of the income distribution system. I expect effective measures to be formulated. I suggest that this reform initiative focus on adjusting labor-capital relations, rather than simply applying payment transfer to redress the wrongs in income distribution.

Another concern when dealing with this issue is the effectiveness of law enforcement. We have already a number of laws and regulations governing labor-capital relations, but to date, the enforcement is still far from satisfying.

Some may have pinned their hopes on the establishment of labor unions, citing successful cases in a number of Western countries.

But in the United States, where union members only account for about one-third of all workers, the majority of non-union members have seen their rights fairly well protected by the government. I expect the Chinese government, following the principle of “putting people first,” to play a bigger role in this regard.

(The author is a researcher with the Rural Research Institution of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Translated by Zhao Shijun) 65

travel

Wuyuan Hometown of Ancient Scholars For centuries, scholars and merchants born in the Wuyuan area have enjoyed success either in the imperial government or in business. Many of them attained some of the highest positions in the feudal hierarchical system of ancient China. As Wuyuan was home to these powerful leaders, their legacies can be seen in the architecture they lef t behind.

By Wang Yan

Famous for its well-preserved "Hui-style" ancient Chinese architecture and its terraced fields of florescent golden rape flowers, Wuyuan, is known as the  "the most beautiful countryside in China".

(Photo by Song Zhenping/Xinhua)

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NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

F

amous for its well-preserved “Huistyle” ancient Chinese architecture and its terraced fields of florescent golden rape flowers, Wuyuan, is known (especially among photographers) as the “the most beautiful countryside in China.”

Though in early June the splendid flowers are no longer in bloom, a voyage to Wuyuan at this time of year still leaves travelers with a profound sense of serenity. The simple but elegant natural environment and the local way of life together create peaceful and idyllic scenes.

Located in the northeast corner of Jiangxi Province, the county of Wuyuan includes many small villages, temples, and a number of spots where patient observers are rewarded with beautiful scenery. Qinghua, Xiaoqi, Big Likeng, Small Likeng, Wangkou and Jiangling are among the most historic villages in the region.

After a two-hour drive northeast of downtown Wuyuan, I found myself surrounded by the white-walled and black-tiled houses of Big Likeng Village. Despite its name, this village, located only 50 miles away from the hustle of Wuyuan, is quite small in comparison. It is an old town of crisscrossing flagstone lanes and canals of crystal clean water, set against the picturesque backdrop of green fields filled with tealeaves and rapeseed plants.

The locals have preserved traditional customs, such as eating in the doorway of their homes or along the narrow lanes.

When they eat, they hold bowls of rice and vegetables, content to sit on a stool or squat without a care in the world. Even domesticated dogs stretch out on the ground, unperturbed by passing strangers. Other than a few groups of tourists strolling through the

(Graphics by Ye Xueming) NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

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travel

An ancient alley in Big Likeng Village. (Photo by Wang Yan)

alleys and the occasional mumbled sound of a television coming from deep within a house, there is no evidence of twenty-first century modern life.

‘Xiao Jie Lou’ Wandering leisurely along the narrow lanes

Transportation:

By Air: The nearest airport to Wuyuan is 98 kilometers away in Jingdezhen (China’s “Porcelain Capital”). Other airports in Jiangxi Province include Nanchang or Jiujiang.

By Train: Wuyuan does not have a train station. The nearest city is Jingdezhen, where there are regular buses headed to Wuyuan. It’s about a two-hour drive.

By Land: From Ziyang town, the downtown region of Wuyuan, tourists can easily commute to Jingdezhen, Nanchang, Quzhou and Shangrao. There are also buses between Wuyuan and other major cities including Nanchang, Huangshan, Hangzhou, Quanzhou, Shanghai, and various large cities in the region. To get around Wuyuan, tourists can use the county’s extensive bus and minibus services, or travel with locals on motorcycles and cabs.

Accommodation: Hotels with standard rooms are available in Ziyang, the downtown region of Wuyuan. You can also stay in the ancient houses with local residents for low costs ranging from 15 yuan (US$ 3) 68

inside the village, we stopped many times to appreciate the delicate wood carvings or sculptures of the ancient houses. One of the most famous houses is “Xiao Jie Lou” (literally “Miss Building”).

According to what we were told by village elders, the man that long ago owned this house expected his beautiful daughter to marry someone as rich or successful as he was. But when he found out that his daughter had fallen in love with a poor scholar from the village, he vehemently opposed their relationship. He forbade his daughter from going outside of the house, fearing that she would run away with the poor scholar. The lovesick girl’s only outlets were books and art. She drew pictures of chirping magpies and beautiful lovebirds to express her anguish, heartache and longing for the man whom she loved.

One day, the father asked all the single young men with rich families from the village to gather downstairs at his house. His daughter was supposed to choose a fiancé through the traditional way of throwing a silk ball to the one she had her eye on.

Although the poor man she loved was not

invited to participate in the event, he managed to sneak in and hide among the group of suitors. Through a clever maneuver, the girl was able to ensure that her lover received the ball, and they became engaged.

When the couple married, they inherited the house and the woman commissioned woodworkers to carve her drawings into the exposed frame of the house. Locals later began calling the house, “Xiao Jie Lou,” because of the legacy she left with these striking images.

to 40 yuan (US$ 6) per day.

houses, archways, and gardens.

Hui style houses typically have rectangular or square openings allowing light and rain to come into the middle of the courtyard from above. The opening, surrounded by the remainder of the house on all four sides help reduce the heat of the sun and increase ventilation. As rain water represented fortune, the houses’ drainage systems diverted water to the opening, so that fortune would run off to the outside. Hui style houses many times were built to reflect the mountainous features, geomantic omens, and the beautiful terrain. The facades of Hui style houses were built with black tiles and white walls, surrounded by high walls shaped like horse heads (for fireproofing), and refined with elegant, beautiful colors.

These houses are often decorated with artwork made of brick, wood, and stone.

‘Hui-style’ Ancient Architecture:

Characteristic features of Hui-style architecture are tall walls in the shape of a horse’s head and an extensive use of black bricks and tiles. All buildings and walls are of different height and, on the outside, have a relatively simple appearance. On the inside, though, many buildings feature very sophisticated construction and subtle ornamentation.

Many buildings have separate rooms for reading, playing Mahjong, smoking, or even discussing secret matters. Buildings are dominated by elaborate wood, stone and tile carvings.

Hui architecture developed during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). During the middle period of the Ming Dynasty, gardens and houses constructed in Hui style developed very quickly along with the prosperity of commerce and the development of social economy. Hui style eventually went beyond Huizhou to large towns along the Yangtze River, mostly in the construction of houses, ancestral temples, joss worship

Wuyuan Architecture Many major buildings in Wuyuan were built in 740, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and during ancient times, Wuyuan was governed by Anhui Province. Anhui merchants, including those from Wuyuan, were famous for running successful tea trading businesses. Back in their hometowns, these wealthy merchants would often construct majestic homes and elaborate temples to offer sacrifices to their ancestors. Many of these ancestor halls still stand in Wuyuan.

Local Scenic Spots:

There are three routes for tourists in Wuyuan – the east, north and west.

The eastern route often has the best scenery, as it covers the water landscapes of NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

travel Apart from being the home of successful merchants, Big Likeng is particularly famous for its large numbers of residents who either became influential scholars or powerful government officials during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). A total of 36 officials and 92 scholars emerged from this village during those periods. It is the famous birthplace of a number of various ministers, including the Yu family, who became influential leaders in Qing engineering, personnel and traditional ceremonies.

Many homes of the former ministers and merchants include exquisite, lifelike carvings in brick, stone and wooden frames.

Elaborate courtyards are separated into three sections, one inside of another, with the inner most being a ten square-meter central area topped with a rectangular opening to the sky, so both sun and rain can enter the inner courtyard.

These ancient buildings with white-washed walls, black tiles, square courtyards, upturned eaves and exquisitely carved woodwork, are home to the many interesting stories about their previous owners. Hidden within the paintings and carvings are auspicious symbols and talismans, as well as images from Chinese folklore.

One building boasts a leaf-shaped window carved into the wall symbolizing a return to origins – a leaf falling down and returning to its root. This represents the desires of ancient officials to return home after their retirement to enjoy a peaceful life.

Besides its legendary beauty, Wuyuan is undoubtedly a “living museum.” Hidden deep in the southeastern mountains, the town escaped the wartime devastation that obliterated many other parts of ancient China, and it remains in its original state even today.

Small Likeng, Jiangwan, Xiaoqi, Wangkou and Jiangling villages.

Rape flower vistas in early April are particularly prevalent in Jiangling. The village’s terraced fields are covered with golden flowers.

From the hilltop looking down, you will see layers of yellow flowers spread below enveloping you in their fragrance.

Taking the northern route, tourists will pass through the historic sites with ancient Hui-style architecture, including Yancun, Sixi, Qinghua Town, Hongguan and Big Likeng. Large numbers of ancient buildings and bridges can be seen on this route.

Naturalists should head west for the fascinating landscapes including Yuanyang Lake and Dazhang Mountain. The later boasts gorgeous waterfalls and giant rocks.

The ‘Four-Color’ Local Specialties:

Red – Stewed Red Purse Carp: The locally-produced red carp is famous for its fine meat, and usually is prepared with the local fresh ingredients. The belly of the red carp is as big as a purse.

White – Jiangwan Snow Pear: Regarded as “the King of Pears” in southern China, the fruit used to be presented to the imperial court as a tribute in ancient China.

Green – Wuyuan Green Tea: This locally-produced green tea was a tribute to imperial court in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The best brands are Dazhangshan and Tianyou.

Black – Longwei Inkstone: Also called Shezhou Inkstone, is one of four famous inkstones in China. The inkstone is native to Longwei Mt. in Wuyuan.

NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

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Hot PickS Food of the Month

That Certain Something

By Jackie Xu

Despite Beijing’s large international community, its relationship with Western food is far from straight forward. Ranging from mild condescension, pasta is still often refered to as “foreign noodles” in many places, to a type of ill-conceived flattery, one word of advice, never try the imitation MacDonald’s, it can sometimes be difficult to find an appealing middle ground. Fortunately, there are a growing band of small often overlooked jointly owned Chinese-Western ventures that have made it their business to provide a simple yet delectable variety of foreign fare.

One such restaurant is the little know French hideaway, La Petite Gourmand. Located on the third floor of Sanlitun’s Tongli Studios, the entrance to “EllePeeGees,” as it’s known to its small but devoted band of regulars, is hidden away between an otherwise bawdy row of bars, tattoo parlors and cheap eateries.

Its modest entrance, however, only adds to the restaurants stylishness. Maybe I’ve been wooed by one too many evenings

Learning Chinese

“Xiao Yang Chun”:

An Indian Summer for the Chinese Economy?

By Li Jing

Mid way through the autumn period (10th lunar month) a spell of warm weather descends over parts of China. This is known locally as the “Little Spring” (小阳春, xiao yang chun). Similar to an Indian Summer in the Unites States, the “Little Spring” is a period of sunny warm weather usually occurring after the first autumn frost. However, it is usually short lived, and a freezing winter follows quickly off the back of it.

Yet now, as we enter the start of summer, we find the term xiao yang chun appearing 70

spent watching romantic French films, or maybe its just the country’s alluring mystique, but I can’t help but think that the only restaurant that could possibly get away with such nonchalant signage, is one that is filled with a Parisian sense of supreme selfconfidence.

Once inside, the restaurant is surprisingly large yet reassuringly intimate; famed for its enormous collection of foreign language books, the walls are decorated with a mix of lavish red velvet drapes and well thumbed paperbacks. Housing a bar, private seating and a large naturally lit terrace, the restaurant is also home to a cozy log fire, perfect for those cold Beijing winters.

Yet it is the food that really makes La Petite Gourmand stand out. Its true appeal coming not in the variety of dishes available, the menu is limited focusing instead on small number of well prepared essentials with a daily revolving list of specials, but in the quality of its dishes. One of my favorite day time snacks is the Croque Madame.

Known to my English husband as a “cheese

and egg sandwich,” the dish is made using imported French cheese, the tastiest crusty bread and is served with a beautifully prepared side salad. It really is all in the detail.

But my all time favorite dish remains the CousCous skewers. Served with a variety of European style meats and grilled vegetables, my favorite being the bologna sausage, the skewers are a true eating experience. Large, wholesome and deliciously tasty, the dish is perfect to share and makes a satisfying evening treat.

But of course where would any self respecting French Restaurant be without great coffee and surly waiters? Fortunately La Petite Gourmand goes one better managing to combine French flair with Chinese hospitality - not only is the coffee superb, but the service is prompt, friendly and always willing to translate the French menu into English or Chinese.

regularly within the Chinese media. Its use though has nothing to do with the current climate; the term has become a popular means of describing early signs of a recovery in the Chinese economy. Auto sales in China, for example, have maintained a robust growth since the start of 2009. By the end of March, China had replaced the United States to become the largest auto market in the world. In the first quarter of this year, a record 2.67 million autos were sold in the domestic market. The real estate trading volume also registered consecutive increases in recent months, while the Chinese capital market displayed an even stronger recovery. So far, China’s stock index has rebounded by over 43 percent since the beginning of year.

Yet in contrast to such encouraging figures, the number of unemployed people continues to increase. Export-oriented enterprises in the coastal regions, which hire a big chunk of China’s white-collar labor force, are suffering from a downturn, due to weak demand from the overseas market.

The Chinese media is now vehemently debating as to whether the economy is turning around or is on the verge of a new low. The opaqueness of the future makes the phrase little yang chun a good description for the current situation. The connotation of the phrase seems to warn that while we are happy with so many positive numbers, we should be on our guard against a possible cold winter ahead.

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essay

The Green Long March

By Caroline Killmer

I

was walking down the lane between my apartment and the main road when a plastic yogurt cup landed 10 feet in front of me, chucked out of a ground floor window by an unseen hand. If I remember anything from kindergarten, it is the lesson that you do not litter, darn it, and my first impulse was to dart forward, grab the cup and throw it right back through the window. I wanted to give the offender an environmental lesson, but unfortunately when agitated every word of Chinese I’ve ever known jams together into a giant brain clot and the best I can do is stammer - or curse - in English. The window slammed shut before I could act, leaving me on the street, contemplating this yogurt cup, a drifting plastic bag, a small array of cigarette butts.

April in Beijing, when free of storms (as it mercifully has been this year) can be quite stunning. The sun sets on a day of bare branches and rises the next on newly

budding trees.

Unfortunately, however, Beijing struggles with drought conditions. The water table generally is on the decrease, and when it rains, it’s because the clouds were seeded.

But the global uptick in environmental awareness has not left Beijing out. The city participated in its first 60 Minutes campaign, resulting in a worthy effort to raise awareness of power consumption on the part of a few bars and the Olympic Green, which powered down for an hour on March 28. I gathered with friends at a local watering hole; I think we all expected an unseen hand to throw a giant switch, plunging the city into darkness. That, at least, would have been fun. Instead we received disappointment, meted out over the course of ten minutes as bar staff scrambled to turn off all but a couple of lights; presumably they wanted to do their part but didn’t trust their rowdy patrons to resist

dismantling the place if tempted by cover of darkness. To be fair, you can’t really blame them, as it’s very likely that’s exactly what folks would have done.

As it turns out, they need not have worried. Though the lights flickered out along Sanlitun, Beijing’s notorious bar street, the spotlights affixed to massive billboards continued to illuminate the night. If anything, sitting in a darkened bar while the city continued to bustle away provided a sharper reminder of our guzzling energy consumption than the 60 Minutes organizers may

First, I tried the parks. You’d think it would be a safe bet: some grass, some children playing, old people dozing in the afternoon sun. But you’d be wrong. People in Beijing don’t come to parks to sit still.

They come to have fun. They play badminton, kick hacky-sacks, fly kites. They blow on trumpets, perform synchronized tai-chi with fake spears, while others bring personal karaoke systems, and serenade one another with Chinese love songs.

And it’s not just the people. Every park is stuffed with “Things To Do.” Children’s rides that each play a different electronic tune, until it sounds like the apocalypse coming out of a Gameboy. A three-foot deep outdoor swimming pool, with a wave

machine and a fake beach; a mini-golf course; a complete with fibre-glass boats in pretty much every shape you can imagine (UFO, tank, swan, Citreon 2CV); a rollerblading rink where people spin around, as the PA plays power ballads.

Sitting on a bench one Sunday, a hidden speaker began to pipe out a muzak version of “Please Don’t Go” by Chicago. I thought to myself: No! This isn’t very relaxing at all!

Next, I tried a temple: sacred and peaceful spaces of meaning and enlightenment.

Sadly for me, it turned out I had chosen the wrong day. I arrived during a Temple Fair, featuring a puppeteer, noisy acrobats, and a mass re-creation of a Ming Dynasty parade, with stirring music coming out of the speakers, and lots of people pushing their way through to get nearer to the action. I gave up and went home.

In desperation, I even tried a relaxing mini-break. We’d seen adverts on TV for peaceful get-aways in unspoilt nature,

Orchestra Off Key

By Tom James

B

eijing is not a quiet city. Everywhere you go, the volume is turned up to the max.

Mobile phones set to loudspeaker relay their conversations. Megaphones tied up outside shops yell at you about discounted socks. Enormous buses chug away at traffic lights. Subway trains shake the ground beneath your feet. It’s like the whole city is an orchestra, although not necessarily in tune.

Irate taxi drivers make up the horn section.

The bangs and crashes of the construction sites provide 24-hour percussion.

After almost a year, I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to find some peace and quiet. Somewhere, anywhere, to relax. But where I could go?

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illustration by Xiang Zhaohui

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essay have ever intended.

A more joyful and prolific example of China’s burgeoning green movement was in evidence on April 4, as the greenies really came tumbling out for the Green Long March kick off at the Beijing Forestry University. The GLM, organized by NGO Future Generations, drew thousands of students, VIP “Green Ambassadors,” government officials and miscellaneous grannies who happened to wander in attended the opening ceremonies Many of the students in attendance had traveled from universities across the country. One such student, Houbin, 21, has been involved in the Green Long March for two years and traveled from Hunan to attend the ceremony and to receive additional training for this year’s projects. Last year he and a handful of classmates hiked a route along the Yangtze River, visiting villages and providing residents with environmental education and demonstrations for how villagers can green their lives.

Kui Li, 26, from Sichuan, has been involved in the environmental movement for eight years and a self-described “freelancer for the environment.” She first be-

illustration by Xiang Zhaohui

summed up with bizarre one-line haikus: Enchanting Hangzhou. Mystical Sichuan.

Rewarding Guangzhou.

We plumped for Hangzhou. At first, the adverts appeared to be true. Arriving at night, and climbing the steep hill to our retreat-like hostel, we looked over the NEWSCHINA

June 5, 2009

came involved in the Green Long March when they quickly organized an outreach program following the 2008 earthquake in her home province. “The Green Long March wanted to have participation in Sichuan to help rebuilding projects,” she explained. GLM staff and volunteer students also provided environmental education for children in makeshift classrooms in the weeks following the earthquake.

This year GLM is planning to build a water purification pool to help two of the neediest villages in their program that are still struggling to recover. The goal is to rebuild in an environmentally conscious way, Kui Li explained.

One of the most impressive factors in movements such as the Green Long March is that all the student participants are volunteers. Volunteerism has only observably started to take off as an activity in recent years, and environmentalism is at a quickly developing, but still fetal stage. You’re far more likely to find a person tossing a used plastic bag into the street - and then to find someone like me sputtering about environmental protection - than you are to find a student willing to hike for kilometers to

tell strangers how they can improve their natural environment. As such, the site of so many enthusiastic youngsters at the Forestry University came as a surprise to me.

Many years ago I had a copy of an old photo of cyclists traveling home as the sun set on Beijing, circa 1980. It was silhouettes of humans and their bikes as far as the eye can see, and it’s a royal bummer that this is no longer the case.

As such, I’m relieved to see movements like the Green Long March gathering so much interest among the next generation. If I’ve learned anything from this lot, it’s that opportunities to embrace sustainability exist in every facet of life, whether its in sorting your garbage for recycling, reducing the amount of trash you generate, or turning off lights and unplugging appliances when they are not in use. As a matter of fact, I’m working that last one into a gym regiment, warming up around the apartment by wriggling into hard to reach corners under desks and tables to unplug the modem, the water tank, everything but the refrigerator really. Then I head out, hop on my bike, and dream of the day when everyone else gets out of their cars and does the same.

landscape. Everything was green, lush, and peaceful. Lightning forked across the night sky, and, after six bone dry months in Beijing, we stood in the warm rain. Enchanting.

Unfortunately, the next morning we realized that the rest of China had come with us. The roads had turned into one enormous circular traffic jam: a sea of coaches, taxis, and SUVs, all with their horns set permanently to HONK. The Enchanting Lake had completely disappeared behind at least a billion tourists, all in competing tour groups following different flags, like armies going into battle. Each tour leader was equipped with a microphone headset like Madonna, and was blasting out commentary over their own portable speakers.

Flocks of brides gathered to have their wedding photos taken, each struggling to bag the best Spontaneous-Gazing-At-TheWillow-Trees spot. We counted fifteen in all. It was chaos.

Deafened and defeated, we shuffled back

to the station, back to Beijing. It seemed like we would just have to accept it, China is a busy place.

But then, something peculiar happened.

Coming home one day from another crazy visit to the park, we realized: it right there in front of us all along. It was in the Hutongs and the courtyards that we cycled home through most days but paid little attention to.

It was there in the people standing outside their shops, in doorways, laughing and joking with the next person along. It was in the children playing, men fixing bikes, young girls peeling vegetables. It was the women in pyjamas walking their dogs, grandmas sitting out on stools. There it was, peace and quiet, in a hundred people slowly living out their lives.

As I watched, the city around me began to turn into one giant perfectly in tune sonata. I let out a sigh. Finally, peace and quiet.

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ENTERTAINMENT

Liu Qian DareYou toWatch

Phototex

Just how artful is the art of deception? Well, if the deception happens to involve pulling pigeons and fish out of a Nokia mobile phone, then the answer is very artful, or at least according to those at Nokia HQ. The young and talented Taiwan magician Liu Qian, who took audience’s breath away at the Beijing-based CCTV Spring Festival Evening Gala is doing it again, only this time online. As the new centrepiece of an online Nokia advertising campaign, Liu Qian’s two new tricks have attracted millions of hits to Nokia’s website. His wow-factor is currently rumoured to be worth an estimated 10 million yuan (US$1.47 million). Perhaps what you get is not always what you see?

Jackie Chan Fluffy

Coco Lee Just Me

Adoption fever among the rich and famous is running rife.

There is the Brangelina addiction to babies, Madonna’s legally not blonde kid, and wait for it – Jackie Chan is now joining the IC herd by adopting two pandas from Sichuan Province. Indeed, this is a smart move, especially when the issue is so black and white. As for the icing on the cake, the tourism authorities of the pandas’ hometown (Chengdu) have also honoured Jackie Chan with the Chengdu Panda Ambassador title, which makes it even cuter. Let us not forget the babies’ names. The boy is Cheng Cheng and you can guess the girl’s. Hint: Jackie Chan is also known as Cheng Long in China.

If every celebrity has to be branded by a certain stereotype, Coco Lee is the exception to the rule. Sure, she has a bold personality and an image that is often put down as pop-trash, but she is also one of those rare multifaceted stars, with a number of platinum discs that mostly came with the “first Chinese artist to do so” tagline. Recently, she worked with National Geographic in Taipei to promote the BYOB (bring your own bag) campaign for environmental awareness, which was well received by the public. In regards to questions about her personal life, miss Lee is headstrong enough to stay real and say that right now she is a career woman who is not worried about weddings and mini-me’s because “happiness is the most important thing.”

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