Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2015 i Beijing Review

China’s going-out development strategy is manifested most through the One Belt and One Road initiatives. The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, both put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, signify China’s commitment to further opening up its economy and revitalizing the ancient Silk Road in a mutually beneficial fashion, experts say. Cooperation potential The Maritime Silk Road dates back to 2,000 years ago, when ancient merchants sailed from China’s eastern coast, passing Southeast Asia, the southernmost tip of India and East Africa, all the way to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, strengthening economic ties and cultural communication of the regions along the route. The new Maritime Silk Road is expected to further communication and cooperation between China and the countries…

It was a miracle that the First China-India Media Forum could be launched at all in 2013, a year heralding changes in the political leadership of both countries. China’s new leadership, led by President Xi Jinping, have subsequently set in motion sweeping changes—cracking down on corruption, reducing bureaucratic hurdles to add impetus to trade and commerce, and seeking to improve the rule of law. In India, the changes have been even more dramatic. The ruling Congress Party lost in both regional and the general elections and the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party’s Narendra Modi became the new prime minister. With the second edition of the forum now slated to be held in Beijing on February 1, it seems that despite the change of guard, both the countries—their political dispensations, non-governmental organizations…

China World Hotel, Beijing Reboots Renovated Horizon Club Lounge Beijing’s largest executive lounge to open in the heart of Beijing’s CBD At over 1,200 square meters, the newly renovated Horizon Lounge offers space for both business and pleasure. Its 756-square-meter lounge area sits 130 and includes a library and dining area. While the lounge provides ample space and facilities for relaxing, a function area of roughly 500 square meters features six individual meeting rooms suitable for groups of six to 16 and is perfect for business. Equipped with the latest in PM2.5 air filtration technology from industry leader RGF of the United States, guests will enjoy the highest standard of comfort and well-being available in the city. In celebration of the re-launch, China World Hotel, Beijing offers Horizon Reimaging, an…

Foreigners living in China agree that Chinese students of all ages are filial: very respectful to their family and elders. My friend Linda Liu explained to me that filial piety remains alive in modern China. This behavior is learned at a very early age, as children learn to read. “A book, called The Classic of Filial Piety, dates back to some 2,000 years ago,” said Linda. “This book offers outstanding behavioral examples to children.” Until the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) fell in 1911, The Classic of Filial Piety was a textbook for schoolchildren in China. “This book taught and still teaches our children not only how to read but also ethics,” said Linda. “And to understand ethics we must also know how filial piety relates to Confucius.” Actually, filial piety became…

Locals are given free porridge to mark the Laba Festival on January 27 in Qiankou Township, Huangshan in east China’s Anhui Province. The festival falls on the eighth day of the 12th lunar month every year and dates back to over 1,000 years ago. In ancient times, the Chinese would cook porridge on this day as a tribute to the God of Agriculture. The festival is also intended to celebrate the harvest and pray for blessings in the upcoming year. The porridge typically consists of eight ingredients, including rice, peanuts, green beans, red beans and lotus seeds. The ingredients used vary from place to place.…

POLAND Survivors are overcome with emotion upon their arrival at the former Auschwitz concentration camp in Oswiecim on January 26 to attend a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the camp by Soviet troops on January 27, 1945 BRAZIL Children play in the water at Madureira Park during a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro on January 25 THE PHILIPPINES Police transport the dead bodies of soldiers killed in a clash with Muslim rebels in the town of Mamasapano on January 26 as renewed violence threatens a peace accord between the government and rebels SAUDI ARABIA U.S. President Barack Obama talks with Saudi Arabia’s new King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud after arriving in Riyadh on January 27 to offer his condolences over death of King Abdullah…

Finally the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to follow the decision of Federal Reserve (Fed) to print money massively. It is uncertain whether the eurozone can brace powerful recovery, just as the United States did after quantitative easing (QE), but far away in China, the yuan has been affected. Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, announced on January 22 that the ECB would launch an expanded asset purchase program. Under this program, the combined monthly purchases of public and private sector securities will amount to 60 billion euros ($68 billion). The program will most likely be in effect until the end of September 2016 and will in any case be conducted until the inflation rate is close to 2 percent over the medium term. This means that, altogether, there will…

A seaside city of 8 million people, Quanzhou in southeast China’s Fujian Province was once described by Marco Polo (1254-1324) as the “Alexandria of the East” in the late 13th century, when it was known as Zayton (or Zaitun) by traders arriving from the Arab world and heralded as one of the world’s most glorious ports. Quanzhou was established in 718 during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It later became one of the most important Chinese ports along the Maritime Silk Road during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties. Quanzhou has welcomed sailors and travelers from many different cultures and religions. A number of famous medieval explorers, such as Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta (1304-68) from Morocco, described the port as one of the most vibrant harbors in the world.…

National Park China plans to build a national park in the Sanjiangyuan region, the cradle of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers in northwest China’s Qinghai Province. A guideline for the park has been completed by a design institute under the State Forestry Administration. The park will cover more than 30,000 square km, including the rivers’ sources in Madoi, Zhidoi and Zadoi counties. If the plan is given the green light, construction can begin as early as the end of this year. At an average altitude of 4,000 meters on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Sanjiangyuan region is a paradise for herders and wildlife, such as the Tibetan antelope. “Sanjiangyuan boasts an ecosystem comprising of glaciers, meadows and wetlands. It’s not common in China, even Asia, and has scientific value,” said…

A mining company that polluted a reservoir has recently been punished under China’s new Environmental Protection Law, which took effect on January 1. In August 2014, the Huangchangping Mining Co. in central China’s Hubei Province began trial production of pyrites without formal approval of the local environmental watchdog and dumped untreated waste water on nearby land. The toxic sewage seeped into groundwater that then flowed into the Qianzhangyan Reservoir, tainting the drinking water supplies for people living in Wushan and Fengjie counties in Chongqing Municipality neighboring Hubei. This cross-regional pollution caused direct economic losses of 3.34 million yuan ($534,000). On January 20, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) announced that the mining company had been fined 1 million yuan ($159,900) for pollution violations. Cheng Jinyin, a manager of Huangchangping Co.,…

During the World Economic Forum annual meeting held from January 21-24, the People’s Bank of China (PBC) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Swiss National Bank, agreeing to jointly establish an offshore yuan market in Zurich. At the same time, a consensus was reached on yuan clearing and settlement arrangements in Zurich. The World Economic Forum also saw an agreement regarding the inclusion of Switzerland into the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) pilot program with an investment quota of 50 billion yuan ($8 billion). All these are paving the way for molding a European offshore yuan market. A complete inflow and outflow mechanism is the precondition for the yuan to become a global currency. During the process of the yuan’s internationalization, efforts should be made not only in…

Dear Readers, Forum is a column that provides a space for varying perspectives on contemporary Chinese society. We invite you to submit personal viewpoints on past and current topics (in either English or Chinese). yanwei@bjreview.com Please provide your name and address along with your comments In early January, with solemn music playing in the background, more than 800 teenage students “kowtowed,” or knelt down, in front of their parents in a traditional ritual of worship in a school in Shanghai’s Jiading District. The students did so to pay obeisance to their parents in a show of filial piety. The school authorities claimed the ceremony was held to promote traditional culture and revive the virtues and ethics that are fast disappearing from society. However, the event has sparked a debate. Supporters…