Chinese Tea to the World

Drinking Tea is said to spread to Japan from China in the 6th century. Every step in Japanese tea ceremony is part of old and graceful ritual.Oolong tea is enjoying a favourable market in Japan and has become an indispensable soft drink for Japanese in pop-top cans. China's Oolong was first chipped to Japan in large volume in 1981. The 1980s witnessed an astonishing spread of Oolong tea in the market, partly stemming from the belief of Japanese women that Oolong tea is good for keeping fit and dieting.     

United Nations and Human Rights

Charter and Universal Declaration Human rights problem has aroused serious concem from the international community. It was originated in the Second World War. Fascists of Germany, Italy and Japan committed genocide and crimes of killing innocents and it became a matter of worldwide concem to defend the right to life. The war between the anti-fascist alliance against the axis powers including Germany and Japan was in fact a war of protecting the dignity and rights of humanity and a war to defend human rights and for national independence. The programmatic document Charter of the Atlantic of the alliance during the war and the Declaration of the United Nations all clearly put forward the idea that defending human rights is     

A Qiongiu Opera Troupe in Hainan

Asimple stage had been set up at theeutrance of Balun Village in theQiongshan District of Haikou City.Curious villagers gathered around towatch the actors and actresses rehearse for their per-formance. It had been three days since the troupe'sfirst Qiongju Opera show in the village, and publicinterest was so strong that Chen Zeliang, managerof the troupe, decided to put on a fourth show.Chen's troupe comes from Dazhipo Town, MeilanDistrict,Haikou. To date, more than 20 independenttroupes from all over the province are based inDazhipo, and each stages over 250 shows a year.They cover every corner of the province, sometimestraveling to neighboring Guangdong Province'sXuwen and Zhanjiang. Qiongju Opena is a particu-lar favorite of native Hainanese, and no festival or     

Tianjin Song and Dance Theatre Visits Japan

At the invitation of the Japanese Min-On Concert Association, a 47-member troupe of Tianjin Song and Dance Theatre organized and sent by the CPAFFC gave 55 performances in 37 cities of Japan from September 12 to November 25, 2005, attracting an audience of nearly 80,000. The grand dance entitled Golden Glory     

Treaties and Truculence

World War Ⅱ commemorations tainted by right-wing political posturing in Japan The month of August carries a heavy emotional weight for East Asian countries. In particular, August 12 marks the day that the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship was signed 35 years ago. Every year since, the two countries have held friendly activities in commemoration of the signing of the treaty around that day.     

Does Portraying a Geisha Deserve Rebuke?

Memoirs of a Geisha, a film invested by Japan, produced by the United States and featuring three top Chinese stars, Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh, was scheduled to open in China on February 19. But that plan was altered and translation of the movie was interrupted, which means the film will not be released on China's main-     

Stories of Hong Kong

At midnight of June 30, 1997 the Union Jack and the Hong Kong colonial flag over the Hong Kong Conference and Exhibition Center were lowered; at zero hour of July 1, the Chinese national flag and HKSAR regional flag were hoisted. Chris Patten, last governor of Hong Kong, shed tears, saying that night "marked the end of a historical era." Many Hong Kong inhabitants also wept; it was the moment that Hong Kong had awaited for 156 years.Shigekazu Sato, the consul-general of Japan in Hong Kong, recalls how pessimistic the international community was about Hong Kong's future. Many thought that it would lose its dynamism in the process of returning to the motherland. Ten years later, the US Heritage Foundation awarded Hong Kong top spot in its 2007 freedom of trade, freedom of investment, freedom of finance and protection of property rights indexes, and named it number one in its economy freedom index for the 13th successive year.     

Fifteenth Anniversary of Zhenjiang China-Japan Friendship Garden

In April,the China-Japan Friendship Garden permeated with fragrance of flowers and thronged with visitors became the place where people in Zhenjiang felt most strongly that spring was in the air. The spring of 2007 happened to be the 15th anniversary of the opening of the Zhenjiang China-Japan Friendship Garden and also the 35th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. In the past 15 years,though China-Japan relations experienced twists and turns,the friendly exchange activities at the Garden never stopped. The recent     

Russian Red Army Song and Dance Ensemble——A Dazzling Star

THE Russian Red Army Song and Dance Ensemble, Russia's national armed forces' performing troupe, was established in 1973 and enjoys a high reputation throughout the world. During the development of the ensemble, general Eleseyev, its president and art dir…     

China''''s Filmmaking Debut

IT was a century ago that China's first film, Conquer Jun Mountain, was made. It was masterminded by Ren Qingtai, proprietor of the Beijing Fengtai Photo Studio. Ren's studio was originally a shop that he bought and con- verted after his return from self-funded photographic studies in Japan. By 1905, Chinese audience had tired of seeing ex- clusively foreign films, so Ren decided to make a Chinese documentary film on the most popular performance art of the time - Peking Opera. He invite…     

Tang Jiaxuan Becomes President of CJFA

At the council meeting of the China-Japan Friendship Association (CJFA) held in Beijing on March 15, Tang Jiaxuan was elected as the new president, while Song Jian became honorary president. In his speech, Tang noted that, over the past 40 years since the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, with concerted efforts by the governments and people of all walks of life, the bilateral relationship had witnessed remarkable development with exchanges and cooperation in various fields reaching an unprecedented level.     

Global Aftershock

The catastrophic earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan have raised concerns about the economic backlash not only to Japan,but also to the world.Standard Chartered Bank’s report Japan:Assessing the Impact warned that Japan’s economy faces the short-term risk of stagnation and suggested the possible impact the rest of the world could face.Edited excerpt follows     

Gruesome Crimes of Japan's Unit 731

正SINCE the unveiling of new evidence of biological experiments on humans conducted by the Japanese army in China in the fi rst half of the last century,the brutality of Imperial Japan and its militarism have been universally denounced.The testing of chemical and biological weapons on live humans by Unit 731of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II is among the most savage acts in human history.A post-war investigation conducted by the United States showed that,in 1943 alone,over800 people fell victim to Unit 731’s tests.By 1945,the number was around     

Candid Dialogue

China and Japan have resumed a new round of strategic dialogue after a sevenyear hiatus.Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Akiba co-chaired the dialogue in Nagano,Japan,in early August The two sides con eluded candid and in-depth excha nges on bilateral relations as well as international and regional issues of common interest,reaffirming that they will actively implement the consensus reached at a leaders'meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Summit in the Japanese city of Osaka in June,and strive to build China-Japan relations in line with the requirements of the new era.     

An International Get-Together of Youth in Yangzhou

It was hot July. With the same warmth.the youth of Yangzhou greeted the arrival of young friends from different countries. The First Inter-national Youth Get-Together.with peace and friend-ship as its main theme. was held in Yangzhou fromJuly 25 to 26. Eight delegations of over 300 peo-ple took part in the get-together. They were pri-mary and middle school students from Atsugi andIrihirose Mura of Japan. Kent and Westport of the     

Abe''''s Political Views

Abe discussed much about his views of politics and diplomacy in his election program, showing that he means to be a tough party president and prime minister. First, on the issue of constitutional revision and collective self-defense right, Abe strongly advocates completely revising the Constitution to remove the limit that Japan can only exercise military power in self-defense. At the same time, by enacting a law, Japan would be able to send its self-defense forces overseas at any time. Abe claims that Japan should break     

The Mysterious Forest in Xishuangbanna

Shen Xueren was born in Weifang City,Shandong Province in June 1941.He graduated from the Central Academy of Arts in 1966,and re- ceived a doctor's degree at the United Nations International University. Now,he is a member of the China Artists Association and the Chinese Calligrapher Association,a consultant for the China International Association of Celebrity,the arts and cultural exchange ambassador of the World Peace Foundation,an honorable member of the British Royal Joint Academy of Sciences,a researcher at the Research Center of the World Cultural Arts and an honored painter of the Cultural Market Development Center of the Ministry of Culture. In 1978,Shen created the Flower Painting Association.In the same year,he participated in the setting up of Beijing Painting Shop.In 1980,he created the Research Association of Flower and Bird Paintings together with his friends.In 1999,he set up Shen Xueren Art Gallery and Shen Xueren Art Museum.From 1982 to 2000,he had many art exhibitions in many countries including the U.S.A.,Japan,France,Canada and Singapore.Wu Zuoren,Chairman of China Artists Association,attended the opening ceremony of his exhibition in Beijing.The chairman of the Artists Association hosted his exhibition in France.The Chinese Ambassador in Canada,Yu Chen,hosted his exhibi- tion in Canada. The local TV and newspapers report on his exhibitions,and his artwork is collected by embassies and museums.He was invited to draw pictures for the National Museum of China,the Great Hall of the People, Xinhua News Agency,the People's Daily and CCTV,and was also invited to the University of Toronto to give lectures on Chinese painting. Shen has won many awards in many countries.These include an award of excellence for international ink paintings held in Japan in 1986, an award of excellence for new in- ternational art exhibitions in 1988 in Japan,the gold medal of the second Chinese Art Competition in 1999,a sil- ver medal in the 2000 World Chinese Art Exhibition,and a special award from the 2001 Beijing International Art Exhibition.In 2007 his artwork was collected by the UN World Peace Foundation and was awarded the World Peace Art Achievement Award. He was given the title World Art Master.     

Paying Homage to War Criminals Warrants Condemnation

正On December 26,2013,Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine,where 14Class-A World War II war criminals,including Hideki Tojo,who was prime minister of Japan for most of the war,are enshrined.These statesmen and military offi cers were responsible for maintaining a 14-year-long period of aggression towards China,for the Nanjing Massacre,for the sexual abuse of socalled"comfort women"in East and Southeast Asia,and for the attack on Pearl Harbor that provoked the Pacif ic War.Convicted of war crimes in 1946 at the International     

Tourism in Ningbo

ITis said that whenEmperor Qinshihuang,the first emperor inChinese history, dispatched a fleet of ships to Japan to seek theelixir of life 2,000 years ago,they started from today's NingboCity in Zhejiang Province.Ningbo boasts a large number of cultural and historicalrelics. The Hemudu ruins of theNew Stone Age prove that theYangtze River, like the YellowRiver, was one of the cradles ofthe Chinese nation. The ruins ofkilns at Shanglin Lake were thebirthplace of blue porcelain inChina. …