LinkChinese UK News

From FCO website:

Foreign Secretary David Miliband inserted the final rod in the seed cathedral at the UK Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo today.

The Foreign Secretary looked around the Expo site and met the team responsible for building the Pavilion. He said:

“The UK Pavilion is a remarkable structure and an eye-catching achievement. It is testament to British creativity - in design, in business and science. I am proud and excited that we will bring the best of British investment opportunities and culture to the biggest Expo ever. I am very pleased to see how much excitement the UK programme of events and the Pavilion has caused - it will be a tremendous six months for the UK in China.”

He then made a speech at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies and addressed an academic audience on the rise of the global middle class. This is now the biggest growing economic group in China and this presents significant opportunities for trade and investment.

 

Anna May Wong - Frosted Yellow Willows, a documentary about the life of this first Chinese American Hollywood star, will be shown at the coming Bradford International Film Festival.

This film is screening as a double bill with Piccadilly starring Anna May Wong.

The writer and director of this documentary, Elaine Mae Woo will join the audiences.

From Bradford International Film Festival:

They called her “The Yellow Wonder”. The daughter of a Chinese laundryman Anna May Wong (1905-61) was a pioneering actress during the embryonic (and deeply racist) years of Hollywood, Despite early success in 1921’s The Toll of the Sea, Wong ricocheted around Hollywood seeking to make a break into movies. Her exotic looks ensured she was never short of work but all too often Wong was relegated to playing servant girls or sundry ethnic support – Indians, Eskimos, Polynesians – whilst white actresses were employed by the studios in key oriental roles. Leading roles were denied her until 1928 when, aged 23, she broke through as Song in the German film of the same name. Over a career spanning 40 years Wong (real name Wong Liu Tsong, or Frosted Yellow Willows) broke down barriers, becoming the first global Chinese/American star. From silents through talkies to TV and beyond, she struggled to be more than just the stereotypical dragon lady of screen villainy.

Print source: Woo Neiman Productions

 

Global Links Initiative has published a new book about social entrepreneurship in China.

“Do social entrepreneurs exist in China? If so, who are they?” The answer to the first question is a resounding YES, and these questions led to the idea to put together this book, the first of its kind to introduce the exciting development of social entrepreneurship in China.

The book features ten stories that cover 13 social entrepreneurs. They came from very different backgrounds: ‘China Rabbit King’, REN Xuping, left school when he was just 14 years old because of poverty; the two young founders of Venture in Development, Marie and Carol, first got to know ‘social entrepreneurism’ at the Kennedy School in Harvard; the founders of Wu Qi Training School, 1kg More and Love Farms were once urban white-collar workers; LV Zhao (founder of NPI) and SHEN Dongshu (CEO of Fu Ping) were very successful businessmen before they decided to devote themselves to the nonprofit world.

For more about the book, table of contents, and how to purchase the book, please visit Global Links Initiative.

 

BBC News reports the case of a Chinese medicine practitioner who pleaded guilty of selling pills containing aristolochic acid.

A practitioner of Chinese medicine has pleaded guilty to selling a banned substance to a woman who went on to develop kidney failure and cancer.

Ying “Susan” Wu, 48, of Holland-on-Sea in Essex, has been on trial at the Old Bailey for selling pills containing aristolochic acid to a civil servant.

The judge said he accepted Ms Wu had not meant to harm, and that the case highlighted the need for regulation.

Ms Wu has now been given a conditional discharge.

Read the full story…

 

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office revealed on 30 June the updated designs for the British Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010. Developed by one of the UK’s leading talents, Thomas Heatherwick, the UK Pavilion will provide a dramatic demonstration of creativity and innovation in the UK.

(more…)

 

From CIOB website:

In a unique event organised by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) construction professionals from the Beijing Olympics 2008 meet their counterparts on the London 2012 project.

The workshop brings together CIOB members from China that managed the construction process of the Beijing Olympics with UK members working on the London 2012 games.

This is the first time that construction managers from Olympic projects have come together to share their experiences and knowledge. The meeting which takes place on the London 2012 site on the 25 June will include presentations by both sets of managers, networking and a site tour.

Read the full story.

 

David Reid, Tesco Chairman, in a 48 Group Club Young Icebreaker lecture to Scottish young people on Monday 2nd March, backs the Prime Minister’s statement made in January 2009 where Premier Gordon Brown wrote, “If we are to make the most of our relationship with China, we need to understand China better, through our schools, universities, cultural institutions, our businesses and in Government. I am determined to do that”.

David Reid pointed up advantages in Scotland: “In opportunities for learning about China, young people have an advantage in Scotland. The Scottish China Education Network, led by Dr. Judith McClure, has shown what determined leadership can achieve by creating in Scotland a focus on the need to raise understanding of China and inspire the learning of Mandarin.”

(more…)

 

Lu Ning’s comment first appered on the Guardian.

While the financial crisis is deepening and spreading, attention is turning to the east. A cartoon in the Australian shows a character saying that western capitalists are looking for eastern socialists to save them.

To Kevin Rudd, the Australian prime minister, this is not a joke. He argued during a Radio Australia interview that the steady growth of China’s economy would be extremely helpful for getting Australia out of the financial crisis.

According to the International Monetary Fund’s economic forecast published last week, most western countries are facing recession next year, while China’s economy will keep growing at 9%. Rudd believes this is good news for Australia. China’s demands for ore, coal and other materials has fuelled the growth of Australia in the recent years. At the moment, China is Australia’s largest trading partner.

Last week’s announcement of interest rates cuts by China was part of a coordinated effort by the world’s central banks. It was seen by most media commentators not as a necessary step to protect China’s financial system, but as a signal showing China’s willingness to take more responsibilities on the international stage.

It is obvious to China that in economic, political and diplomatic terms, it is now in good position in relation to Australia, US and Europe.

(more…)

 

The Times Ginny McGrath reports the new trends of Chinese restaurants, the use of MSG, and locally sourced ingradients.

If the mention of a Chinese meal conjures up images of lurid chunks of deep fried chicken, it’s time for a rethink.

The Asian cuisine, whose love affair with most Britons extends to nothing more wholesome than crispy seaweed and sweet and sour prawns, is undergoing something of a revolution. Restaurants specialising in regional Chinese cuisine, and not in the ubiquitous, greasy western version, are flourishing.

…there’s an ill-conceived presumption that all ingredients are imported from Asia, accumulating heinous food miles. But in reality, many restaurants will source produce locally simply because it is cheaper. “Without realising it, or advertising it, they [Chinese restaurants in England] will use a lot of locally sourced produce,” says Ching-He Huang, author of a contemporary Chinese cookbook, China Modern, and presenter of Ching’s Kitchen on UKTV Food.

While some Asian seasonings and vegetables cannot be sourced from within the UK, meat and fish are of course available here, and increasingly farmers are experimenting with growing Asian vegetables in the UK.

Read the full story.

 

From FT.com, by Robin Kwong in Hong Kong

A new wave of Chinese diaspora is set to create fresh markets for Chinese media across south-east Asia, North America and Europe, according to the chief executive of one of the world’s biggest Chinese-language publishers.

Francis Tiong, chief executive of Media Chinese International, which has a global circulation of more than 1m for its five daily newspapers, said there is a new wave of migration from China that is driven by the younger Chinese generation.

“The younger generation is increasingly being educated overseas, and despite many doing business in China, they are sending their families overseas . . . Increasingly you have cities with Chinese populations reaching 300,000-400,000, which I think warrants a Chinese language newspaper or media,” Mr Tiong told the Financial Times.

Read the full story.