The New Term

Russian President Vladimir Putin secured his fourth term with a land-slide victory in mid-March, winning around 76 percent of the vote. According to Russian law, Putin wil hold the post for another six years until 2024, at which point he wil have ruled the country for 20 years. During his fi rst three terms, Putin has com-mitted to rejuvenating the once powerful country. He likely intends to make several more notable contributions to guarantee his legacy in the history of Russia and the world. In his fourth term, can Putin finally realize his dream of reviving Russia, and what internal and foreign policy will he adopt to crown his long career as the head of the Russian state?     

Tide of Change

Li Zhengde regards the Yangtze River as the highway of his youth.Born in a small town in south China's Hunan Province,Li grew up near the Zijiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze,and in 1976, boats were the major mode of transport there.In the 1990s,he had to take a year off from school due to illness and sailed to nearby Wuhan Province on his cousin's wooden junk,It was his first trip outside Hunan and the one-month sailing experience is etched indelibly in his mind.     

The Science of happiness

正A maverick Chinese psychologist and his U.S.colleague discuss how to make China happier In the introduction to his 2004 book The Geography of Thought:How Asians and Westerners Think Differently…and Why,U.S.social psychologist Richard E.Nisbett describes how a"brilliant young student"from China prompted him to switch his focus to cultural psychology with the statement:"you know,the     

HOPPING MAD

China's young white collars are discovering the benefits - and the pitfalls - of jumping from one job to the next. PRESSING the PC's 'off' button after a particularly hectic week at the office, Li Gang almost scorches his finger. He then stuffs the contents of his desk into a cardboard box. In goes the photo of his wife and 2-year-old son, his Formula 1 mouse pad, his heavily stained coffee pot, and his Newton's Cradle. On     

Deepening African Ties

Chinese President Hu Jintao has just embarked on his state visits to eight African countries that will take him to both the northern and southern tips of the continent. This is his first trip abroad this year, and also his third visit to Africa     

Hard Pressed for Coal

Higher prices and the worst snowstorms in 50 years have strained China's coal supply to the limit There's little coal left. Jiang Zhangshui wears an expression of worry on his face.As president of Zhejiang Tianma Thermal Power Co. Ltd., he's had to keep his eyes on the snow falfing in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. During a lull in the storm he drives to the airport and flies to Beijing. Like his counterparts at many other     

Lotus Painter Cai Qibao

THE studio is small and cramped. One has to edge one’s way along it to avoid knocking over the tools of his trade - brushes, sticks of ink, paper, inkstones, and stamps - and a pile of letters on his work table. Cai Qibao jokes that his studio is possibly the smallest in Beijing.     

Living the Dream

An American aspires to build a cultural bridge across the Pacific through art James Holt realized both his own and his grandmother’s long-cherished visions the day he got his visa stamp to come to China seven years ago. Holt’s grandma, Kay Engel, was a medic who wanted to go to China to help injured soldiers and civilians during World War Ⅱ.     

Lost Childhood

正EVERY school day Dongdong wakes up at 6:20.Still half asleep,his mother has to force him to drag on his clothes and brush his teeth.Within 15 minutes he has to be in the car,ready to leave,which means his breakfast has to be consumed on the way.If it is winter,the sun has not yet risen.     

A DECADE'S DIALOGUE

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited China on July 6-10,his 10th trip to the country since assuming office on January 1, 2007. Known for his unwavering determination to bring nations together, Ban has always taken a hands-on approach to the thorniest issues.His tenure ends this year after leading the UN for a decade.During the Beijing leg of Ban’s five-day visit,Beijing Review President Li Yafang and reporter Liu Yunyun sat down with the secretary general to talk about his experience and his vision for the world. An edited excerpt of the interview folows:     

CREATING CHANGE IN HAINAN

A cultural dream realized In 1988, the Hainan Province was estab-lished, awakening Liu Wenjun's dream of starting his own business. From that mo-ment on, his personal fate was tied to the future of Hainan and to the country's reform and opening-up process.     

The Art of Persuasion

French President Emmanuel Macron has recently come under the spotlight. He chose to side with the U.S. and the UK on military action in Syria in April, a decision likely borne of his impulse to cling to America and keep alive his dream of reviving France as a great power. He also visited Washington, D.C. as Europe's envoy in the hope of persuading the U.S. not to forsake the Iran nuclear agreement and to extend Europe's exemption from Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs. Of most concern to Macron at present is the reestablishment of France and Germany's central role in Europe, to push ahead with reform of the euro zone and to revitalize the European Union (EU).     

A Successful Visit

A state visit to China during the first year in office is unprecedented for a U. S.president, but Barack Obama has made it. Moreover, the fact that President Obama spent four days and three nights of his seven-day visit to four Asian nations in Beijing and Shanghai has demonstrated the importance his administration attaches to China and to Sino-U.S. relations in its global strategy.     

Major Power Relations At Crossroads

正Will Trump fashion a new strategy or stick to the same path in the Pacific?Both during his campaign and after the election,U.S.President Donald Trump has stated that he wants new policy ideas and new policy faces on his team.Healso said he wants good relations with major powers.Because these are still the early stages of his administration,it is reasonable to believe that developing an effective new national strategy,and a new foreign policy to     

Breaking Down the Syrian Crisis

<正>Beijing Review interviewed Lakhdar Brahimi,the former UN and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria,in Beijing on November 5 to get his insights on the Syrian crisis and how to solve it.A former Algerian foreign minister and creator of the world-renowned Brahimi Report,he has devoted his career to resolving conflicts and building peace in some of the world’s most troubled regions.An excerpt of the interview follows:     

Pei Yuanshun:Age,Caution

PEI Yuanshun,now 70,taught in a vocational secondary school in Kaifeng,Henan Province before she retired in 1996. Two years later her husband Wu Yingfan retired too.As their grandson was enrolled in an elite high school in Beijing's suburb and far from his downtown home,the couple bought a home close to his campus and moved to Beijing in 2001 to house him while he studied.Two years ago,the boy continued his education abroad and the old couple became empty-nesters.     

To Be a Well-off Witkey？

A "witkey" is a person who sells knowledge and experience to others via the Internet. What are the opportunities and challenges of this new and rapidly expanding area of e-commerce? IT was one o'clock in the morning, and Huang Weiguo was hunched over his keyboard, busily applying the finishing touches to the product he was about to send to his client via a witkey website. He had spent two similarly tedious late nights staring at his screen, making sure that the package he returned would be a high-quality job. "It's a very demanding job, but the hours can be flexible. What's more, you can find the work you specialize in directly on these witkey websites."     

Tickle Your Funny Bone

Zhao Lin, a native of east China’s Anhui Province, has allergic rhinitis and had to leave Beijing six years ago because he couldn’t adapt to the relatively dry clim ate. But this year, he moved back to the capital and dons a mask on his way to the cafe for his interview with Beijing Review.     

LETTERS

The topic of＂dreams＂ reminds me of a text by the late Chinese writer Shi Tiesheng who was paralyzed when he was 21, in whichhe elaborated on his devotion to sports. He loved track and field the most, more than writing, and his favorite star was Carl Lewis whom, with a strong body and super speed, he regarded as the luckiest man on earth. Shi once thought that he would do anything to have Lewis＇ physique and vigor in another life, if there were one. But observ- ing the athlete＇s rise and fall after a doping scandal, he gained fresh understanding of success, happiness and life in general. He said his dream was to have a healthy body, a beautiful soul and life wisdom. While acknowledging that many think one should not be too greedy or ambitious, Shi＇s overriding belief was that everyone has the right to dream big, and to look forward to the best in the world.