2013： A Promising Year for China

Recent power transitions in some of the world’s major economies imply possibilities of a change for the better. The world looks to these new leaderships to spur world politics and economy.SPRING Festival celebrations last February heralded the Year of the Snake according to the Chinese zodiac, and much bandying about of the phrase "spirited dance of the golden snake," which signifies a year of vitality and prosperity. Anxiety about the world     

LETTERS

the history of the early part of the last 150 years is very depressing, I feel that young people should know about the long, hard road China has traveled, as all should know about the past to be wise for the fu-ture. As such I feel it would not only be of interest to foreigners, but also to Chinese readers if you could have some articles highlighting the past, so as to understand the present.     

Lessons from Antarctica

AFTER a lifetime of work in a profession that entails making the right acquaintances in the right places, I’d racked up my fair share of frequent flier miles to just about every continent. Not a single one, however, was courtesy of Antarctica. In fact, it wasn’t until a five-year posting during the 1970s to China’s Permanent Mission Office to the United Nations that I first learned about the continent. It was at meetings of the UN Seabed Committee that I made     

Changes in an Old Community

THE rainy season used to be the most irksome period of the year for Zhao Yunshu. A member of the Jinyuchi Beili Neighborhood Committee, she handled seemingly endless complaints, over the telephone and in person, about utility problems caused by rain. They included blocked drains, leaking roofs, and electricity failures. She would then cycle to the real estate maintenance station in search of suitable workers to do repairs, or talk to the people in charge about long-term solutions. This year's rainy season, however, she spent most of her time sitting in the office drinking tea.     

Chinese Finance Holds Fast amid International Competition

THE cry of wolf was loud in China in the first years after its accession to the WTO. Skeptics were dubious about the competitiveness of domestic financial institutions, suggesting that they would lose business to foreign banks and insurers en mass. Another worry felt widely was about whether China's supervisory bodies would be able     

Lady Gallants of Old

THE standard scenario in films and literary works about ancient China is that of an honest man being attacked and robbed by bandits, or a beautiful woman about to lose her virtue to a gang of ruffians. Just when it appears nothing can save them, a knight errant and master of martial arts, rather than officer of the law, comes to his/her rescue in the nick of time. The knight errant makes mincemeat of the villains and they flee, limping and bleeding,     

An Auto Industry Legend

QI Yumin was vice-mayor of Liaoning's Dalian City until about a year and a half ago. Then he took the helm of the Brilliance Auto Company, based in the provincial capital of Shenyang. At the time, the ailing company was "waiting to be wound up." But Qi went on to change its destiny.When he was vice-mayor of Dalian, Brilliance was to Qi just another auto maker with the same old problems. In December 2005, he took a different view. He was appointed president of Brilliance Auto Company, executive president and chairman of the board of China Brilliance Automobile Holding Company, and president of Brilliance Jinbei Automobile Co., Ltd. En route from Dalian to Shenyang, Qi encountered a Christmas snowstorm. It just about reflected his mood. As he wrote in a text message to his sister, "I am going to a strange city to take a strange job in a strange company. I don't know what to feel."     

Celebration of Strong People-to-People Ties Between Canada and China

正I am delighted to have this opportunity to say a few words about the blossoming of the Canada-China relationship,and to tell China Today readers about the joint Canada-China commitment to hold a series of cultural activities in our respective countries over 2013-2014.Let me begin by telling you that this is my third posting to Beijing.I was f irst here in the mid-80s and then again in the late 90s.As such,I’ve witnessed extraordinary changes     

Red-Flag Canal,the Great Wall of Water in China

Driving all the way southward from Beijing, about 5 hours we had already left behind us Hebei and set feet on the land of Anyang City, Central China's Henan Province.To the northwest of Anyang lies a city called Linzhou, which sounds a stranger to most people. However, if one starts to talk about the Red-Flag Canal of Linxian County, the album of old days will unfold itself in surges. In 1960s when the PRC was     

LETTERS

Iam a teacher of English at a vocational school in Gansu,and I have been reading your magazine for about 10 years, It is really helpful to me, because at first, I could hardly read through the articles without the help of an English dictionary, But now, I am really happy I can. After about 10 years of hard work, I came to reatize that your magazine is both interesting and of high qual- ity. From it, i have learned a lot about the history, culture, geography, and the economic development of China.     

Playing Together

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the worldrenowned Polish composer Frederic Chopin.Throughout the world,a range of activities will be held to commemorate the great maestro.Tadeusz Chomicki,Polish Ambassador to China,talked to Beijing Review reporter Yu Yan about China's celebration of the anniversary,as well as cultural exchanges between Poland and China.     

SNOW''''S UNIQUE CONTRIBUTIONS——In Communicating to the World About the Chinese Revolution,in Promoting Sino-US Understanding and Better Ties

We gather here today to mark the 100th birthday of our genuine and esteemed friend Edgar Snow. This year also coincides with the 60th anniversary of the victory of the World's Anti-Fascist War as well as the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in China. It is against this historical background that I would like to talk about Edgar Snow's unique contribution of communicating to the world about the Chinese revolution. Edgar Snow is the most widely read and influential American journalist on 20th century China. He was the first American journalist who in 1936 risked his life and broke through the Kuomintang blockade visited Bao'an in the Northwest and gave the first authentic account of     

Address on Behalf of the Alley Family by Maurice Alley (Excerpts)

It is a great privilege to be here at these celebrations today and have the opportunity to say something on behalf of the family about the life of Rewi Alley.     

The feel of an old street in Jilin City

Every day, I take the same road on my way to the office and back home. Few people know how that road was given its name or ask themselves about its meaning. That old road, Henan Street, has a history of over 300 years. In my childhood, my grandfather told me about it and other stories about my city's past.That city is Jilin, located in the province of the same name, in the northeast part of China. The Songhua River, in a beautiful wide vista, divides the city into two parts, which is the only city in China that shares the name of the province to     

The Girl Behind Multiple Masks

AT just 18 years old, Yang Jing is the only Sichuan opera actress skilled in the ancient art of face transformation. Yang lights up as she talks about it: "Two years ago, I happened to see a program on TV about face-transformation. It was fascinating to see how, with a flick of his sleeves and a turn of his head, the actor changed his face into ten styles of stage make-up." Yang was so drawn to this art that she decided to learn it for herself.     

Sowing the Seeds of Colombia

正COLOMBIAN to the core,Carmenza Jaramillo became the first Latin American woman to serve as an ambassador to China,two decades after her post as consul general of Colombia in Hong Kong.With her usual ease,she talked to China Today about the current state of relations between the two countries.     

Development of China''''s Human Rights Cause in the Past 13 Years

The most recent 13 years constitute a period of paramount importance in the history of human rights development in China. These years have seen the Chinese government persistently take economic construction as the core of all work and spare no effort to strengthen the building of democracy and the legal system and promote the development of spiritual civilization. This has brought about an all-round progress of the reform and development undertakings, ensured stability of the country, and brought about a sharp increase in the national strength. A historic change has taken place in living standards, and the Chinese people have come to enjoy a better life after they succeeded in producing enough to feed and clothe themselves. To sum up, Chi-     

Development of China''''s Human Rights Cause in the Past 13 Years

The most recent 13 years constitute a period of paramount importance in the history of human rights development in China. These years have seen the Chinese government persistently take economic construction as the core of all work and spare no effort to strengthen the building of democracy and the legal system and promote the development of spiritual civilization. This has brought about an all-round progress of the reform and development undertakings, ensured stability of the country, and brought about a sharp increase in the national strength. A historic change has taken place in living standards, and the Chinese people have come to enjoy a better life after they succeeded in producing enough to feed and clothe themselves. To sum up, Chi-     

Smarter and Healthier

When Bai Chunxue was first exposed to the concept of the In ter net of Things (loT) nearly a decade ago, as a doctor doctor of respiratory medicine,he was troubled by the unsatisfactory feedback of patients about the experience of seeing a doctor. The complaints included waiting too long to get a diagnosis. To better meet patients' needs, Bai, who works at the Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University in Shanghai, began to explore the application of loT in medical treatment.     

Rural Governments Find a Voice

WITH a history of about a decade,the press spokesperson system is new in China.Especially when it comes to county and township governments,the system is still in its infancy.On a recent visit to Changfeng County in Hefei City,Anhui Province,China Today reporters were surprised to learn that there were 67 spokespersons for the local county and township governments.To learn more about how this quintessentially Western system of government-media contact has affected rural society,China Today interviewed several of the county’s press spokespersons.