多民族的中国我是真的爱——对话“中国政府友谊奖”获得者马克·力文（英文）

正"Chinese people have great love and strong national cohesion to their nation,and I want to be a member of them."A baseball cap with the Chinese characters for his name,a large white beard,and a guitar with the pattern of the Five-Starred Red Flag are the signature of an"uncle"from Los Angeles.Mark Levine has traveled and sung songs in China for more than ten years and written lyrics with Chinese characteristics     

FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS THE PRESS

<正>On March 7,Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang answered questions from Chinese and foreign media about China’s foreign policy and external relations at a press conference on the sidelines of the First Session of the 14th National People’s Congress.Edited excerpts of his remarks follow:     

Is It Time to Acknowledge Dual Nationality?

正Whether China should adopt the dual nationality policy was again mentioned in this year's sessions of the National People's Congress of China (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The current Nationality Law of China does not recognize dual nationality. Article 8 says that a person whose application for naturalization as a Chinese national has been approved shall not retain foreign nationality, while Article 9 states that any Chinese national who has settled abroad and who has been naturalized as a foreign national, or has acquired foreign nationality of his own free     

Teaching at Nanjing Union Theological Seminary

On a back lane in the bustling Xinjiekou District of the city center of Nanjing is a quiet almost hidden "oasis", the campus of Nanjing Union Theological Seminary. This is temporary home to nearly two hundred students preparing for leadership and teaching for the Chinese Protestant Church. Union Theological Seminary (UTS) Nanjing is the national seminary of the China Christian Council. It has 27 fulltime Chinese teaching staff. The addition of a few foreign teachers is a new experiment. The hope seems to be that the foreign teachers will bring different experiences, perspectives and teaching methodologies into the faculty mix. The first two foreign faculty members taught at UTS in the 2001-02 year.     

“The Little UN”Where the Official Language Is Chinese

Celebrated as the "Little UN," in 40 years the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) has trained some 60,000 international students from 167 countries. As the only international university in China teaching Chinese language and culture to foreign students, it has more foreign students than Chinese. Korean students have formed a Korean community in a district near the university, where they rent apartments and stage their own activities. There is a special Ten-thousand-country Wall inside the campus, on which are engraved the names of foreign students' countries. Even though the university is flooded with different peoples, languages and cultures, all speak Chinese as well as the natives. In the Little UN, Chinese is the official language.     

Say That in Chinese

Demand for Chinese language learning is fueling all aspects of the market, most notably the textbook publication industry Alarge-scale series of Chinese lan-guage textbooks are to be pub-lished in the coming years jointly by the China International Publishing Group (CIPG) and Yale University, the first venture of this kind by a Chinese publication institute and a leading foreign university.     

PREMIER MEETS THE PRESS

On March 14, Premier Wen Jiabao addressed the Chinese and foreign media at a press conference after the closing meeting of the Third Session of the 11th National People’s Congress. Edited highlights on a number of economic and social issues follow:     

My Teacher and Helpmate

IN my life I have made many friends, both Chinese and foreign, quite a number of them intimate to the extent that I can repose in them my full confidence. Israel Epstein, known as Eppy to his friends, is one of the most outstanding. In appearance he is foreign, but emotionally he is Chinese, having taken Chinese citizenship in 1957. Those who have heard and read his analyses of Chinese issues are impressed with his deep insight. Epstein, who turns 90 on April 20, is a living witness to the radical changes that have     

Israel Epstein： Witness to the Chinese Revolution

On April 20, our esteemed Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Israel Epstein, celebrates his 90th birthday. All of us here at China Today extend our sincere best wishes to the eldest member of our family, who helped Soong Ching Ling set up our magazine. Happy Birthday, Eppyl Epstein is a distinguished veteran journalist and a member of the CPPCC Standing Committee. There will be all kinds of celebrations to mark his 90th year, including a birthday party attended by State leaders, and Chinese and foreign friends. What's more, an exhibition will be held, displaying his personal achievements and devotion to introducing China to the outside world. A photo album illus- trating his 90 years' of life in China will also be published. The Chinese have a deep-rooted tradition of respecting the elderly. Within Chinese households, the greatest celebrations occur on the birthday of a senior family member. Chinese people have held such celebrations for Rewi Alley, George Hatem, Hans Mueller and many other foreign experts who ha     

OPINION Lower Tariffs,Greater Benefits

The lowering of tariffs on a wide range of consumer goods will benefit foreign brands in the Chinese market, and in the long run will also give a boost to domestic producers.     

MARKET WATCH

At the very end of the first quarter this year, the United States filed an anti-subsidy case against imported Chinese coated paper and planned to levy a punitive tax of up to 20 percent. The Chinese Government regretted the decision and is working to resolve this matter. As the Chinese foreign exchange watchdog discovered, the surging trade surplus in recent years is partly shored up by a huge influx of international hot money. The supervisory department is bent on checking the speculative capital in an effort to bal-ance China's international payments. At the end of March, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce issued its guidelines on foreign investment in China. Service and hi-tech companies are welcomed. China itself has invested heavily in overseas mar-kets with a total of $16.1 billion last year, mostly in Latin America. Late in April, China CITIC Bank, the seventh largest bank in China, will be listed on both the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges, the second duel-listing after Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.     

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

In his recent article on China's historical tasks at the primary stage of socialism and its foreign policy, Premier Wen Jiabao acknowledges that the socialist system in China is still immature and has a large room for improvement. It was the first time a senior Chinese leader had published such a judgment. An editorial of The Economic Observer, a leading Chinese business weekly, hails this as a breakthrough in guiding the country toward greater democracy and modernization.     

Foreign-funded Banks：A Grip on Their Holy Grail？

ON December 11, 2006, China honored its WTO commitment to open its Renminbi business to foreign banks. Since that date, both locally incorporated foreign-funded banks and joint venture financial institutions are licensed to offer RMB services. Non-incorporated branches may also accept time deposits from Chinese citizens within the territory of China of no less than RMB 1 million for each time. It seems foreign banks at last have one hand on their holy grail - China's 1.3 billion customers. But their grip is so far a weak one. China Youth Daily carried out a survey, and of the 3,384 respondents, 85.2 percent said that they paid close attention to the development. As regards their impression of foreign banks, 66.7 percent said their main advantage was a better service. Just 10.8 percent said they would open an account in a foreign bank, and 16.4 percent said they would wait and see what happens. What lies ahead for foreign banks in China, and how will the phenomenon impact domestic banks in the Chinese mainland?     

名家开坛 平遥论道——2003平遥国际摄影大展首次设立4个中国摄影论坛

During the festival, four forums, namely the architectural forum, photojournalism forum, portrait forum and scenery forum, were opened in order to facilitate the exchanges between Chinese and foreign photography worlds. It was also a good opportunily for amateurs or photography lovers to have a face-to-face interaction with professionals. The launching of these forums, a bright spot of this year‘s festival, has added luster to the Pingyao International Photography Festival and held a creative significance for the history of Chinese photography.     

Charting a New Course

正Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao spoke to Chinese and foreign media at a press conference on March 14, after conclusion of the Fifth Session of the 11th National People's Congress, China's top legislature. Edited highlights follow:     

Foreign Brand Credibility Crisis

CHINESE consumers have long been convinced that foreign brand names are synonymous with better quality and service. And as the country enters the later stage of its post-WTO transitional period, a tidal wave of imports hovers on the horizon. A spate of incidents in recent years, however, has besmirched their overseas sheen, and shaken Chinese consumers' faith in foreign goods.     

New Models,Higher Levels

正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.     

Guiding Overseas Investment

Detailed tasks have been assigned to different government departments to attract and utilize foreign capital In line with China's economic development,a policy introduced earlier this year was meant to optimize the structure of and serve as a guideline in utilizing foreign capital and direct such investment to China's central and western regions. Now,a new scheme is demonstrating the Chinese Government's determination and confidence to further improve the investment environment for foreign capital and en...     

DIPLOMATIC DYNAMICS

On the sidelines of the G20 summitin Toronto from June 26-27,Chinese President Hu Jintao met with a number of foreign leaders,including the new prime ministers of Britain and Japan.     

Preserving a Legacy

Memorials get ready to celebrate the centenary of the CPC Exactly a century ago,on July 23,the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opened in a building in Shanghai.Attended by 13 Chinese participants and two foreign representatives from the Communist International,the historical meeting declared the founding of the CPC and laid out its guiding principles and workplan.