Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol.63/No.2 i Beijing Review

KAZAKHSTAN Rescuers work at the site of a plane crash in Almaty on December 27, 2019, which killed 15 people and injured dozens TURKEY A visitor takes a selfie at a chocolate museum in Istanbul on December 30, 2019. The museum features more than 100 chocolate reproductions of famous architectures, figures and artworks from all over the world IRAQ A security room of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in set on fire on December 31, 2019 during a demonstration against U.S. airstrikes on Iraqi paramilitary Hashd al-Shaabi forces. The U.S. vowed to deploy more troops to the Middle East UNITED STATES Fireworks and confetti fill the night sky during New Year celebrations in Times Square in New York City on January 1 INDONESIA A boy sits in a submerged street…

Wang Junsi, head of an office of justice located in Luhe District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province in east China, usually receives five batches of people a day seeking his help. “I like to see them leave my office feeling happy, satisfied with solutions to their problems,” Wang told Beijing Review. Thanks to his solid professional knowledge and the study of many disputes, no case can stump Wang in the eyes of local residents. His work acumen also comes from his understanding of the place he serves. “The Yeshan sub-district covers an area of nearly 105 square km, with eight villages and a population of 48,000,” he said. Every week, he visits all the villages in the area and communicates with villagers. This way, he can understand people’s needs better and…

At ND Paper’s mill in Rumford, a town in the U.S. state of Maine, some of the workers have added a personal touch. They have brought their own potted plants and put them next to the machines to brighten up the place. “It is a small thing that doesn’t impact the mill’s performance,” said Ken Liu, CEO of ND Paper. “But then it shows our employees care that we’re building a long-term business.” ND Paper is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Nine Dragons Paper Holdings, the largest containerboard producer in Asia. The Chinese company acquired the Maine mill with over 600 employees in 2018, making it the biggest of the four mills it has acquired in the U.S. over the last two years. The other three are in…

The Chang’e-4 lunar probe’s landing on the far side of Moon was a good start to China’s performance in aerospace in early 2019, while the liftoff of the third Long March-5, also known as Long March-5 Y3, saw a remarkable ending. The flawless liftoff overcame the most difficult problem in the country’s carrier rocket history. China’s largest carrier rocket The 57-meter Long March-5 Y3 is the largest carrier rocket in China. It has a 5-meter diameter core stage, 10 engines and four boosters. The rocket weighed nearly 870 tons when it was launched, with a thrust of over 1,000 tons. It blasted off at 8:45 p.m. on December 27, 2019 from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan Province in south China. After a huge flame and white flashlight, it…

New Year Greetings Students write the Chinese characters fu, meaning good fortune, and chun, meaning spring, during a calligraphy writing activity at a school in Nanning, capital city of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China, on December 31, 2019. Holiday Directive A directive issued by the General Offices of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council on December 26, 2019 urged to look after people in difficulties during the festive season leading up to the Spring Festival holidays. Laying down the priorities for CPC and government work during the most important national holiday, it said Party committees and administrations at all levels should offer relief funds for people in dire poverty. Assistance should be strengthened to needy groups, including senior citizens in straitened…

In 2019, we sweated and toiled and thanks to our steady pursuit of high-quality development, China’s GDP is expected to edge close to 100 trillion yuan ($14.36 trillion) with per-capita GDP reaching the level of $10,000. Significant breakthroughs have been achieved in the three tough battles [the battles against major risks, poverty and environmental pollution]. Coordinated development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Yangtze River Delta has accelerated. Ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin have become national strategies. About 340 impoverished counties and more than 10 million people have been lifted out of poverty. Our lunar probe Chang’e-4, for the first time in human history, landed on the far side of the moon. The Long…

When people fabricate stories about a person, especially a popular star, and then spread them online, they cannot hide behind screens. They can easily be traced and taken to court. A report released on December 19, 2019 by the Beijing Internet Court showed that about 28 percent, or 41,948, of Internet-related cases filed from January to November of the same year were related to reputation infringement. The defendants, mostly aged 19 to 30, were taken to court for the damaging words or falsified information they used to insult some celebrities, while supporting their own idols online. “We suggest government departments, social associations and Internet enterprises cooperate with us to help regulate young people’s behaviors online to keep cyberspace in better order,” said Zhang Wen, the court’s president. Internet connection Founded…

“Money is the mother’s milk of politics.” This comment reveals the essence of contemporary U.S. politics. Money politics runs through all aspects of U.S. elections, legislation and governance, and has become a persistent disease in U.S. society. Money for power Elections, whose original purpose is to express the will of the voters, determine the political direction, and choose qualified leaders, have been reduced to money games. Raising funds is a prerequisite for a candidate to run in an election at any level. Without enough money, it is simply impossible to compete for any important political position. The election costs of the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates have increased rapidly from $700 million in 2004 to $1 billion in 2008 and $2 billion in 2012. In 2016, U.S. elections, including presidential…

Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging information technology, while fishery is a traditional agricultural industry. The two seem to be incompatible. But for Shen Yunjian, who has been raising fish for 14 years, the IoT has brought him enormous benefits. Shen, in his 50s, and his wife have contracted a 70-mu (4.67-hectare) fish pond in Quxi Village, Deqing County in the eastern province of Zhejiang. Like most fishermen, they adopted the traditional open-air fishpond farming model, relying on experience to raise fish. It meant they had to patrol the pond every two or three hours, even in the late night, to ensure there was enough oxygen for the fish. However, things have changed in the last two years. Now, with the help of a mobile phone app, Shen can…

A 31-year-old unmarried woman, Xu Zaozao, recently sued a Beijing hospital after it refused to freeze her ova, commonly known as egg cells, so that she could have children later. Xu said she needed to devote her time and energy to her career, having received a recent promotion. It meant greater responsibilities and pressure to perform well. So she wanted to freeze her eggs while she was at the prime of fertility. Initially, the hospital ran an examination to find if her eggs were healthy and could be frozen. Though Xu passed the test, her request was refused when the hospital realized she was unmarried. According to Chinese regulations, single women are not allowed to use assisted reproductive technology, including egg freezing. Even married women can avail of the technology…

Bank Reform In the latest effort to boost growth, China’s central bank has pledged to push market-based reforms, aiming to significantly bring down real interest rate levels and cut social financing costs. Prudent monetary policy should be pursued with moderate flexibility to maintain market liquidity at a reasonably ample level, according to a statement published on January 1 after a regular meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People’s Bank of China. China will ensure that the increases in M2 money supply (cash in circulation and all deposits) and aggregate financing will be in keeping with nominal GDP growth, the statement said, ruling out the possibility of “flood-like” stimulus. Financial supply-side structural reform will be advanced to enhance support for high-quality development, and more efforts will be made to…

The author is president of the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing-based think tank The year 2019 was eventful in global affairs. It also marked the 70th founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). China has changed in ways unimaginable seven decades ago. It has become a leading engine of the global economy. Its citizens and companies are active all over the world. As China’s economic footprint has grown, so has its need for diplomatic engagement. At the time of its founding in 1949, the PRC had only a fledgling diplomatic corps, and was shunned by many countries and global institutions. Today, it has forged ties with countries in every corner of the globe and plays a leading role in international organizations. Its diplomatic network has grown…

The first train on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway darted out of the Beijing North Railway Station on December 30, 2019, loaded with significance. It marked the official launch of the railway connecting two co-host cities of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Beijing and Zhangjiakou in neighboring Hebei Province. The railway shortens travel time between the two cities to 47 minutes from over 3 hours. It has a maximum designed speed of 350 km per hour. Launched some 110 years after the inauguration of the country’s first independently built railway linking the same two cities, the new line is the smartest high-speed railway in China, with 5G signals, wireless charging and other intelligent systems. Thanks to the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, the train can automatically start, run between stations and adjust…

On the sides of a road in Haozhiba, a village in the southwestern province of Yunnan, bougainvilleas are in full bloom. The inconspicuous flowers are flanked by bright red modified leaves called bracts, which look like rosy clouds from afar. The plant species was introduced into the village by Zhu Youyong, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and former President of Yunnan Agricultural University. Since coming to the village on a poverty-alleviation mission five years ago, Zhu has introduced a variety of plants into the village, including pseudo-ginseng and potatoes. The primary residents of Lancang, the county where the village is located, are the Lahus, an ethnic community who have lived in towering mountains for generations. They planted corn and millet to make a living, picking mushrooms…

While Santa Claus is commonly believed to live in the North Pole, Yiwu, a small city in Zhejiang Province, east China, has effectively developed into his warehouse. Although many people in this “Christmas town” don’t celebrate the holiday, they are masters at producing all the trimmings to bring holiday cheer to customers around the world. Yiwu has become the world’s largest production base for Christmas products, according to Cai Qinliang, Secretary General of the Yiwu Christmas Products Industry Association. According to customs data, its exports of these products totaled 1.92 billion yuan ($275 million) from January to October 2019, a year-on-year increase of 23.9 percent, up 10.6 percentage points from the same period in 2018. With scarce farmland and low productivity, Yiwu was mired in poverty before reform and opening…