Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol.64/No.29 i Beijing Review

July 11 marks the 17th Maritime Day of China. On this very day some 600 years ago, Zheng He, a great navigator from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), kicked off his first voyage into the vast open waters. In total, Zheng undertook seven expeditions on behalf of the Chinese emperor sailing across the South China Sea, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and along the east coast of Africa, leaving behind a wide range of cultural, religious and economic heritage. China has been a maritime power, active and strong in oceanic freight shipping and shipbuilding. At a time of globalization, 95 percent of China’s foreign trade in goods is transported by sea, while its shipping fleets keep growing. By the end of 2020, China’s shipping transport capacity had hit 310 million…

SHOOTING WORLD CHAMPION ON FOURTH OLYMPIC TRIP Pang Wei, nailing the gold medal of the men’s 10-meter air pistol at the Olympic Summer Games Beijing 2008, has become one of the most experienced athletes in the Chinese delegation to the upcoming Olympic Summer Games Tokyo 2021. The 34-year-old started his shooting career in 2000 and debuted at the Olympic arena after eight years. Pang, suffering lumbar and cervical pain from time to time, is eager to bag medals from his fourth Olympics. “My goal is certainly a good result, and hopefully we will hear the Chinese national anthem at the award ceremony,” he told Xinhua News Agency in April. Unveiled on July 14 in Beijing, the Chinese delegation, the country’s largest representation in an overseas Olympic Games, has a total…

Malcolm Clarke, a British director and two-time Academy Award winner, shared his views on how China’s pursuit of xiaokang, or moderate prosperity, has changed people’s lives with Beijing Review reporter Li Nan. Xiaokang is a goal the government first proposed in the late 1970s and has recently been accomplished. Clarke’s new documentary A Long Cherished Dream, which features ordinary Chinese people, premiered in Beijing on July 13 (See P.46 for more information). This is an edited excerpt of his views: The best government initiatives are the ones that have real lasting impact on people’s lives, changing people’s lives for the better. And xiaokang is definitely doing that. When I came to China in the 1980s, I was shocked by how poor great areas of the country were. It was actually…

The first five months of 2021 saw relative stability in the Middle East region, after the de-escalation of several local conflicts. In Syria, the Assad Government has regained 70 percent of the country’s territory. Some other Arab countries, which had severed diplomatic ties with Syria after its civil war erupted, reconnected with the Assad Government to seek resumption of diplomatic relations. In Yemen, forces agreed to pursue the political resolution of conflicts through UN mediation, reaching agreements on a ceasefire, prisoner exchange and humanitarian assistance. Libya’s interim government was formed with the Government of National Unity and the Libyan National Army agreeing to hold national elections at the end of this year. The relative peace in the Middle East was disturbed in May, however, with a renewed escalation of tensions…

Asia will capture the attention of the world in the next few months. Starting in Tokyo, Japan, in late July and continuing in Beijing, China, in February 2022, the Olympic and Paralympic Summer and Winter Games will gather top athletes from nations around the world and bring unforgettable, emotional moments to the international community. The Beijing 2022 Games, however, have not avoided politicization. Calls for boycotts have been made in the West, including by the European Parliament. It is not the first time politics has overshadowed sports. In the last decade of the Cold War, U.S.-Soviet rivalry led to the U.S. boycott of the Moscow 1980 Olympics. Four years later, the Soviet Union took tit-fortat measures and boycotted the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. Sadly, both the Moscow and the…

The life path of many an international figure has crossed with that of the Communist Party of China (CPC) over the past 100 years. As China witnessed tremendous progress and change, their stories, too, have been remembered. Rewi Alley (1897-1987) was one of those international friends, who shared long-term ties with the CPC dating all the way back to the earliest of days when the Party was embracing the struggle to save the nation from peril. The New Zealand-born writer, social reformer and educator spent 60 years of his life working in China. He arrived in Shanghai on April 21, 1927, and later decided to align himself with China’s working class after witnessing their trials and tribulations. During the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945), Alley and…

Recently, big cities like Beijing and Shanghai have begun to offer Summer Camp services on campus to primary school students. Students will be provided with libraries and reading rooms, and besides, they can also participate in organized sports and art activities, but they will not be forced to have academic classes. The summer camp service charges little to nothing, and students from families with financial difficulties need not pay any fee. While it’s widely applauded by parents, the problem now is how to operate this new program in a way that satisfies both pupils, parents and teachers, and how to make it financially feasible. Zhong Chao (Guangming Daily): Usually, pupils will be sent to commercial tutoring institutions during long vacations, as their parents are worried about them staying at home…

After the scientific victory of developing vaccines, stopping the COVID-19 pandemic is now financially and pragmatically feasible. The only obstacle now is a lack of international political will and cooperation. Vaccine challenges According to recent World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) studies, to defeat COVID-19 countries need to aim to vaccinate at least 40 percent of their population by the end of this year and 60 percent by the middle of 2022. This will require upfront funding of $50 billion, not just pledges made at conferences. The reports add that funding should prioritize providing facilities for testing, treating and preventing infection as well as increasing the capacity to produce and distribute vaccines. Currently, poorer countries, including large parts of Africa, have a serious lack of access to vaccines, whereas…

The People’s Bank of China has been stepping up promotion of the digital yuan, a so-called Central Bank Digital Currency that aims to replace some of the cash in circulation. It represents an argument that places the country at the feverish center of a hot debate engaging international government officials, economists, bankers and business executives alike. One crucial question remains: How will this digital currency fare in daily life? Hot topics Throughout its dynastical history, China was reputed for being a major contributor to science in terms of discoveries and inventions—just think papermaking, the compass, gunpowder and movable-type printing—all of which have had a considerable impact on the evolution of humanity. Even in modern times China has stayed true to its carefully crafted reputation for innovation through the introduction of…

On July 9, the Chinese Government released a document on accelerating the growth of new business forms and models in foreign trade. The document proposed to promote innovations in China’s foreign trade sector, in terms of systems, management, service, business forms and models. Meanwhile, policies and pragmatic measures on new business forms and models of foreign trade have been drafted, covering cross-border e-commerce, market purchase, comprehensive foreign trade service companies, offshore trade, and overseas warehouses. This latest document is seen as a top-level arrangement to accelerate the development of China’s new business forms and models in foreign trade, yet their ultimate success relies on various efforts. International cooperation and exchanges in intellectual property rights protection and cross-border logistics chains need to be greatly promoted. Besides, a balanced mix between imported…

No.108 Dongsi South Street in Beijing consists of three clothing stores. However, they were once connected and belonged to an old brand. When renovations on Dongsi Street, located in Dongcheng District started in July 2020, experts from the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design removed its marble facade and uncovered a traditional building, the eaves and oil decorations and paintings of which have remained intact. “It is an exciting discovery as those old components are well preserved,” Zhang Hanyu, head of the project, told Beijing Review. After browsing historical files such as old photos, they found their answer—it was the site of one of the earliest bakeries in Beijing hundreds of years ago, namely Hefanglou. The dessert store, established in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) and fading into history in…

China has billionaires and is a top destination for foreign direct investment. It has thousands of branches of Starbucks and KFC, along with significant private ownership of capital. It suffers from different levels of inequality. These factors lead many to question whether it really is what it claims to be: a socialist country. China’s leaders are very clear that socialism with Chinese characteristics is socialism, not any other “ism” and that “only socialism can save China.” Elements usually associated with capitalism have been purposefully used in order to increase productivity, attract investment, encourage technical development, and support peaceful coexistence with the capitalist world. This has all proven invaluable in improving the living standards of the Chinese people. All this is unorthodox in the relatively short history of actually existing socialism,…

Zhang Lin, 25, is from a village in the mountainous province of Yunnan, southwest China. She escaped from her first marriage, which she was forced into by her parents, due to domestic violence. Later on, she got married once again, this time for love; nevertheless, she had to leave this marriage, too, because her second husband could not accept her son from her first marriage. The only thing Zhang has never given up on is the attitude of being independent. “I want to provide a good life for people I love,” Zhang said. “Women must be financially independent. I will buy a car and an apartment by myself. I won’t rely on anyone.” Standing tall—at under 1.6 meters, Zhang makes her living as a truck driver. She usually starts driving…