Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol.61 / No.3 i Beijing Review

KOREAN PENINSULA Government representatives from North Korea and South Korea attend high-level talks held in Panmunjom on January 9, to discuss the easing of tensions between the two countries LIBYA Rescued migrants sit on the ground at a naval base in Tripoli on January 7. The Libyan Navy rescued 297 illegal immigrants and recovered two bodies off the coast of the western city of Garrabulli IRAQ Soldiers take part in a military parade at the Military Academy in Baghdad on January 6 to celebrate the 97th anniversary of the Iraqi Army BRITAIN Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street following the first cabinet meeting of the year in London on January 9. Despite British Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet reshuffle on January 8, most of the top ministers remained…

On January 8, President Xi Jinping presented China’s most prestigious scientific prize to two veteran scientists, one a virologist and the other an ordnance specialist known as the “King of Explosives.” Sometimes referred to as “China’s Nobel Prize,” the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award was established in the year 2000. Two scientists are selected annually for the award, and of the 5 million ($768,403) yuan prize money, 10 percent is granted to the winning individuals, while the rest is committed to further research in the field. Notable past recipients are agricultural scientist and “Father of Hybrid Rice” Yuan Longping, who won the inaugural prize, and the Nobel Prize winning pharmaceutical chemist Tu Youyou, who received the award for her discovery of an effective malaria treatment in 2016. This year’s…

In early January, a video in which a teenage girl is beaten by several other girls in what looks like a school dormitory went viral in China. One of the perpetrators stamps on the girl’s head while others kick her in the back and legs. The victim is told to stay on the floor, kneeling, with her mouth bleeding and face covered in bruises. Later, local police and the Education Bureau of Ningdu County, east China’s Jiangxi Province, where the incident took place, ran an investigation and made public their findings. The girl was attacked by seven of her classmates after reporting them to a teacher for smoking. The assault was, apparently, their way of getting “pay back.” The offending students were subsequently punished by the school in accordance with…

The world’s second largest economy, second largest importing country, and second largest country of consumption are all designations which testify to China’s transformation in the four decades since reform and opening up began. They will also set the tone for the First China International Import Expo (CIIE) in November this year. “The import expo connects the domestic and international markets, so it can coordinate their respective resources, which will help not only diversify China’s consumer market, but also lower consumption costs, advance reform and opening up, and enhance the quality, efficiency and growth impetus of Chinese enterprises,” said Gao Feng, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), at a press confer-ence on December 28, 2017. “A top priority of the commercial sector in 2018 is to get things underway for…

Tea has been linked with China for centuries, but I grew up knowing little about China’s tea or even China. Before coming to Beijing, I was familiar with green tea and black tea, but not much else. As an American with southern roots, black tea was usually served over ice in the summer, with sugar (which counteracted the bitter taste produced by over-brewing the tea). I discovered green tea after college, and learned to love it hot, with no sugar. When I had the opportunity to move to China, I discovered there were more than two types of tea and many flavors between them. When dining with friends, my hosts would often order jasmine tea, and the delicate floral aroma and flavor of the brew quickly became my favorite. I…

Severe Punishment More than 6,000 people have been punished or held accountable for misusing poverty relief funds in the past five years, auditing authorities said on January 9. These people were punished after auditors examined the use of poverty relief funds in more than 270 impoverished counties, according to Hu Zejun, head of the National Audit Office. A total of 6 billion yuan ($920 million) of misused funds was recovered after the audit, she told a conference. Poverty alleviation has been listed as one of China’s “three tough battles” for the next three years, along with financial risk prevention and pollution control. The three fields will be the focus of public auditors in 2018, according to Hu. For pollution control, authorities will start auditing the management of natural resources by…

Country Pavilion for Trade and Investment A platform for countries and regions to demonstrate their achievements in trade, investment and tourism. Enterprise and Business Exhibition • Trade in Goods • Trade in Services: Tourism, emerging technologies, culture and education, creative design and service outsourcing Hongqiao International Trade Forum Discussions on issues such as trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, an open world economy, and the sustainable development of trade and investment. Enterprises from over 100 countries and regions are expected to participate in the 2018 China International Import Expo. It is estimated that 150,000 domestic and foreign professional purchasers will participate in the expo. In the next five years, China is expecting to import products and services with a value of more than $10 tln. (Sources: China International Import Expo…

In 1962, 17-year-old Xing Lanxiang was hired by a glassware factory in Beijing after graduating from junior middle school. Before that, she had never heard of the art, and even afterward never did she expect to be engaged in it for the rest of her life. Today, together with her two sons, Xing is a national intangible cultural heritage inheritor and also the only glassware artist who has received the title of master. In line with tradition, Xing followed a teacher, Tian Wenyuan, and after three years’ apprenticeship, she was already very good at the art thanks to her diligence and passion. She always chose to tackle complicated work and soon became a leading figure in the factory. When the factory established its technology department in 1979, she became a…

Students discuss startup projects during the Second Tongji-Bauhinia Valley Startup Camp at Tongji University in Shanghai on January 6. Over 70 college students from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan attended the event. The Hong Kong-based Bauhinia Valley Innovation and Development Center, founded by a number of organizations led by the Hong Kong China Chamber of Commerce, aims to promote cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong in fields such as science and technology.…

On January 10, French President Emmanuel Macron wrapped up his first state visit to China, which began three days earlier in Xi’an, an ancient capital and a city rich in history and culture, in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. Choosing Xi’an as the first stop of his trip was not merely a show of the French people’s appreciation for Chinese culture, even though many French leaders have visited the city in the past, including former President Jacques Chirac. Perhaps more remarkably, the city was once the eastern terminus of the ancient Silk Road. In a speech delivered to an audience of academics, students and businesspeople during his stay in the city, the French president said Europe should take part in the Belt and Road Initiative and thus share in the benefits…

Blue skies over Beijing in winter, which have been regarded as quite a luxury during the past several years, are less rare these days and no longer so remarkable as to cause photos of the pleasant conditions to inundate social media. Meanwhile, whereas air purifiers often used to be out of stock in Beijing due to overwhelming demand, nowadays many remain unsold even at discounts of up to 50 percent, according to Beijing Morning Post. Recent data concur with the experience of locals. On January 3, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau (BMEPB) published its report on addressing smog in 2017. The average concentration of PM2.5 during the year was 58 micrograms per cu bic meter, the lowest such proportion in the past five years. And the number of days…

New energy development has joined the ranks of high-speed railways and aerospace manufacturing as one of China’s new trio of modern game changers in the field of science and technology. The rapid expansion of solar and wind power has resulted in the restructuring of the country’s energy mix According to the National Energy Work Conference held on December 26, 2017 in Beijing, total energy production was expected to surpass 3.6 billion tons of coal equivalent last year, of which 17.6 percent was non-fossil energy, an increase of 6.4 percentage points from 2012. Installed power-generation capacity was projected to reach 1.77 billion kw, of which non-fossil power-generation capacity made up 38.1 percent, up 9.6 percentage points from 2012. The five years marked the fastest growth period in the history of new…