Archive for ‘China alert’

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22/01/2019

Peppa Pig: China falls for an unlikely UK brand ambassador

Undated handout photo supplied by Peppa Pig World of a poster for Peppa Pig celebrating Chinese New YearImage copyrightPA

She’s unlikely to feature on many lists of the all-time top British cultural icons.

But Peppa Pig – the UK-made children’s cartoon character – is right up there with the best of them, at least in China.

With the series racking up 18 billion online views since its launch here seven years ago, the story of Peppa and her unfeasibly English middle class family is, arguably, doing more for Brand Britain than the Beatles, Manchester United and any of the culinary delights – for which the UK is rightly so renowned – put together.

Pork scratching anyone?

It is then no surprise that, when a Peppa-shaped opportunity came knocking, the British powers that be seized the moment.

After watching an episode in which the precocious piglet and her friends visit the Queen in Buckingham Palace – and encourage her to join them jumping in muddy puddles – two Chinese twins posted a video message online, addressed to none other than Her Royal Majesty.

They too, like Peppa, wanted to visit her in her palace, they said.

And it worked.

Well, sort of.

Dame Barbara Woodward, British Ambassador to ChinaImage copyrightBRITISH EMBASSY CHINA
Image captionDame Barbara Woodward, British ambassador to China, invited the twins to her Beijing residence

The British ambassador to China, Dame Barbara Woodward, posted her own video message in reply.

“Hello Mi Ni and Mi Ai,” she said. “I’m the British ambassador, so I’m the Queen’s representative in China.

“I’d like you to come and visit me in my house in Beijing,” she went on, “and we can perhaps have tea and scones in a British style.”

The post has been viewed more than nine million times in China – a multiple of 10 times more views than anything else Dame Barbara has posted in her entire four years as ambassador.

Dame Barbara Woodward, British ambassador to China, with twins Mi Ni and Mi AiImage copyrightHUW EVANS PICTURE AGENCY
Image captionThe twins might travel to the UK next

And so it was that two slightly bewildered five-year-olds found their way to her residence and munched on scones and chocolate cake, and sat colouring in pictures of Peppa Pig, in front of the assembled media.

“Do you think that the Queen really has muddy puddles in her garden?” I asked them.

They nodded. It is a big garden after all.

The whole experience may not have been quite the same as the real deal, but they have also been promised a trip to the UK where they will, at least, get to see Buckingham Palace.

And the British embassy has launched a competition along with Youku – the online channel with the Chinese rights to Peppa Pig – the young winners of which will also join the twins for the trip.

Peppa Pig tattooImage copyrightYUNTIANZHONG TATTOO
Image captionPeppa Pig tattoos have become the symbol of a certain counter-culture in China

The whole Peppa phenomenon, it must be said, has a bit of a dark side in China.

A couple of years ago, pictures began to appear online of people sporting Peppa Pig tattoos.

She appeared to have become the chosen symbol for a counter-culture known as “shehuiren” – literally “society people”.

Early last year, one popular Chinese streaming site, Douyin, began removing Peppa videos en masse.

The nationalist, Communist Party-controlled tabloid Global Times described Shehuiren as people who are “poorly educated with no stable job” and “unruly slackers roaming around and the antithesis of the young generation the party tries to cultivate”.

Soft power

But Peppa has survived this brush with subversion.

A new Peppa Pig movie – made especially for the Chinese market – is due to be launched this coming Chinese New Year.

It is a collaboration between China’s Alibaba Pictures and Canada’s Entertainment One; although still made in the UK, Peppa Pig is now owned by the Canadian company.

The viral trailer for the film – which artfully grafts the story of Peppa onto seasonal themes of Chinese family and belonging – has received more than 300 million hits to date.

With the need for stronger ties with major economies in a post-Brexit world, I asked the UK ambassador whether she thought that a certain pink pig was proving rather more adept at it than British politicians.

“I wouldn’t put it quite as zero sum as that, to be honest,” Dame Barbara laughs in reply.

There are three components to good UK-China ties, she tells me – a strong government-to-government relationship, a strong business-to-business relationship and a strong people-to-people relationship.

“Peppa Pig is as much a part of the latter as the Royal Family, Wimbledon, the Premier League and all the other things we think of when we think of soft power.”

With cute twins, a great British-made product, and massive Chinese media exposure, she must be wishing all UK-China diplomacy could end so happily.

And pigs, as they say, might fly.

Posted in brand ambassador, China alert, Peppa Pig, UK, Uncategorized, Year of the Pig | Leave a Comment »

22/01/2019

Ma Ying-jeou appears as ‘shopkeeper for a day’ in Taipei bookstore

  • Video clip shows 68-year-old serving customers to ‘earn some money’ for calligraphy brushes and ink to write Lunar New Year couplets for supporters
  • Former Taiwanese president has been trying to rebuild his popularity, but his office says they are unaware of whether he plans to join 2020 election race
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 22 January, 2019, 7:48pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 22 January, 2019, 7:58pm

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Lawrence Chung
Lawrence Chung
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Ma Ying-jeou has been trying to rebuild his popularity, and the latest effort involves a video clip of the former Taiwanese president working as a “shopkeeper for a day” at a bookstore in Taipei.

More than two years after he stepped down from the top job and the helm of the mainland-friendly Kuomintang, the 68-year-old is seen in the video serving customers to “earn some money” so that he can buy calligraphy brushes and ink to write Lunar New Year couplets to give to his supporters.

The video has been viewed more than 110,000 times since Ma’s office posted it on YouTube on Friday.

But the Harvard Law School graduate is not a natural for retail work, judging from the footage. Dressed casually and wearing a face mask to hide his identity, when a customer asks to use JKo Pay – the local version of Apple Pay – Ma appears to have never heard of it.

Still, it is a chance to try to sell some copies of his book. But he fails to drum up any interest in his memoir until he removes the face mask, to the delight of some of the women customers at least.

  TOP ARTICLES1/5READ MOREPassengers en route to Hong Kong shiver through13-hour ordeal on Canadian tarmac

He’s back: Ma Ying-jeou rebuilds his popularity – might another run for Taiwan’s presidency be in store?

According to his office, the video aims to show another side to Ma who, in his younger days, was known for his movie star looks and squeaky clean image.

“We want to let the public know that the ex-president is actually an easy-going person, the man next door type,” an official from the office said.

But he would not be drawn on whether the video had anything to do with Ma potentially joining the 2020 presidential election race.

“This kind of question has been around for some time, you’ll have to ask the former president because we have no idea at all,” the official said.

In a recent radio interview, Ma also deflected questions about a possible comeback, saying he had been asked about his intentions numerous times since he launched a political foundation in July and released his memoir in December. “They are much too imaginative,” he said.

Yet efforts on social media such as the “shopkeeper” video are clearly aimed at promoting his image and winning support.

On the self-ruled island, politicians such as Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je, a former doctor with no political affiliation, has had the most success amassing fans on platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.

Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu, of the KMT, also used social media to help his campaign in the November local government elections.

Lin Ching-hung, an author and commentator, said social media campaigns were a valid way to win public support.

“To improve public understanding of serious topics or to create a laid-back image, there’s nothing wrong with politicians trying to turn around their image or do something lighthearted online – like Ma acting as a shopkeeper for a day, or President Tsai Ing-wen going to Ximending [in Taipei] to eat and shop, or former New Taipei mayor Eric Chu making a pig gesture on Facebook,” Lin said.

But he added that gaining popularity online was not the same as doing a good job in government, and voters knew that.

Beijing’s ever-changing approach to ‘renegade province’ Taiwan

Ma’s popularity has risen sharply in the past year or so, in contrast with his time as president – especially during the last few years of his second term, which ended in 2016.

When he was first elected in 2008, Ma’s approval rating was at 68 per cent. But his government’s mishandling of the economy and issues such as a devastating typhoon that killed nearly 700 people in 2009, as well as the Sunflower movement – which saw hundreds of students storming the legislature in 2014 – made him highly unpopular.

Posted in bookstore, China alert, Ma Ying-jeou, shopkeeper for a day, Taipei, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

22/01/2019

Palace Museum tells Chinese children stories about Twenty-Four Solar Terms

BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) — The Palace Museum released a set of 24 books Monday aiming to introduce the Twenty-Four Solar Terms to China’s younger generation.

The Twenty-Four Solar Terms, developed thousands of years ago, are the seasonal division points in the traditional Chinese calendar.

The book set, designed for children aged between three and six years old, includes 830 hand-painted images of the Palace Museum, 48 traditions, 115 cultural relics, 64 animals and 76 plants, according to Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum.

Publication of the books marks a new attempt by the Palace Museum to carry forward traditional Chinese culture, Shan said.

“Through recognizing cultural relics, reading poems, learning knowledge and appreciating arts, the books lead children into the world of traditional Chinese culture, implanting its beauty into the hearts of our next generation,” he added.

A mobile phone app has also been developed, incorporating AR technology, aiming to enhance the experiences of child readers.

Increased attention to traditional Chinese culture has not just been a fashion in China in the recent years. In 2016, UNESCO inscribed China’s Twenty-Four Solar Terms on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, signaling the importance attached to them by the global community.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in China alert, Chinese children, Palace Musem, Solar Terms, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

22/01/2019

Inner Mongolia to lift 140,000 people out of poverty

HOHHOT, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) — North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region will help 140,000 people and all its county-level regions escape poverty in 2019, local authorities said Monday.

Governments at all levels invested 10.1 billion yuan (1.5 billion U.S. dollars) of special poverty-relief fund in 2018, up 25 percent year on year, lifting 235,000 people out of poverty, it said.

About 332,000 government officials attended training sessions for poverty alleviation last year.

The regional government said the poverty headcount ratio had dropped to 1.06 percent by the end of last year.

In 2019, the government will strengthen the implementation of poverty relief policies, deepen cooperation with Beijing city on fighting poverty and boost its featured industries to create more jobs and income for local people.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in China alert, Inner Mongolia, poverty, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

21/01/2019

Xi keeps China on high alert for ‘black swan’ events – Xinhua

BEIJING (Reuters) – China must be on guard against “black swan” risks while fending off “grey rhino” events, President Xi Jinping said on Monday, adding that the economy faces deep and complicated changes, state news agency Xinhua reported.

A “black swan” event refers to an unforeseen occurrence that typically has extreme consequences, while a “grey rhino” is a highly obvious yet ignored threat.

Xi’s warning came after the release of data on Monday showed the economy posted the slowest growth in 28 years last year, hurt by faltering domestic demand and bruising U.S. tariffs.

Local governments and state organizations should find a balance between stabilizing growth and fending off risks, controlling the pace and intensity of such policies, Xi said in remarks during a meeting with provincial and department officials.

Sliding growth had pressured the government to roll out more stimulus to avert a sharper slowdown. The central bank has cut the reserve requirement ratio for banks five times in the past year.

Economic operations would be maintained within a reasonable range, Xi said, adding financing difficulties of small businesses will be resolved pragmatically while authorities would also step up support for companies to stabilise jobs.

Zombie firms – companies with a lot of debt – would be dissolved properly and resettlement of workers would be taken care of accordingly, Xi added.

China would implement long-term mechanisms that support the stable and healthy development of the property market, while making thorough evaluation of the potential impact on financial markets when drafting policies, according to Xi, who did not elaborate.

He emphasized that technology safety was an important part of national security and the country will accelerate legislation in artificial intelligence, gene editing, autonomous vehicles and drones.

Faced with complicated and difficult external environment, China would step up the protection of its overseas interests while making sure of the safety of major overseas projects and their personnel, Xi said.

Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei HWT.UL was arrested last month in Canada on a U.S. extradition request.

Western intelligence agencies have for years raised concerns about Huawei’s ties to China’s government and the possibility its equipment could be used for espionage.

Source: Reuters

Posted in black swan, China alert, President Xi, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

21/01/2019

China economy: Annual growth slowest since 1990

China’s economy grew at its slowest rate since 1990, stoking fears about the impact on the global economy.

China expanded at 6.6% in 2018, official figures out Monday showed.

In the three months to December, the economy grew 6.4% from a year earlier, down from 6.5% in the previous quarter.

The data was in line with forecasts but underlines recent concern about weakening growth in the world’s second-biggest economy.

China’s rate of expansion has raised worries about the potential knock-on effect on the global economy. The trade war with the US has added to the gloomy outlook.

China GDP

The official figures out Monday showed the weakest quarterly growth rate since the global financial crisis.

While China watchers advise caution with Beijing’s official GDP numbers, the data is seen as a useful indicator of the country’s growth trajectory.

Presentational grey line

Analysis: Wider implications?

By Karishma Vaswani, BBC Asia business correspondent

China’s economic slowdown is not news in itself. Beijing has broadcast this for several years, that it’s going to focus on the quality not quantity of growth.

But still, we should be worried.

Slower growth in China means slower growth for the rest of the world.

It accounts for one-third of global growth. Jobs, exports, commodity producing nations – we all depend on China to buy stuff from us.

Slower growth in China also means it is harder for China to address its mountain of debt, even with the Communist Party’s undoubted ability to be able to support the economy.

Presentational grey line

Slowdown warnings

Growth has been easing for years, but concern over the pace of the slowdown in China has risen in recent months as companies sound the alarm over the crucial market.

Earlier this month Apple warned weakness in China would hit its sales.

Carmakers and other firms have spoken out on the impact of the trade war with the US.

Women work in a factory in ChinaImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES

China’s government has been pushing to shift away from export-led growth to depend more on domestic consumption.

Policymakers in China have stepped up efforts in recent months to support the economy.

Those measures to boost demand include speeding-up construction projects, cutting some taxes, and reducing the level of reserves banks need to hold.

Capital Economics China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard said the Chinese economy remained weak at the end of 2018 “but held up better than many feared”.

“Still, with the headwinds from cooling global growth and the lagged impact of slower credit growth set to intensify… China’s economy is likely to weaken further before growth stabilises in the second half of the year.”

Source: The BBC

Posted in China alert, slowest growth, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

21/01/2019

China plans major cut in number of people allowed to climb Everest

  • Fewer than 300 people will be allowed to climb the world’s highest mountain from the north side as part of a major clean-up operation
PUBLISHED : Monday, 21 January, 2019, 7:43pm
UPDATED : Monday, 21 January, 2019, 7:43pm

COMMENTS:  

China will cut the number of climbers attempting to scale Mount Everest from the north by one-third this year as part of plans for a major clean-up on the world’s highest peak, state media reported Monday.

The total number of climbers seeking to reach the summit from the north will be limited to less than 300 and the climbing season restricted to spring, China Dailyreported.

The clean-up efforts will include the recovery of the bodies of climbers who died more than 8,000 meters (26,246 feet) up the mountain, they said.

Parts of Everest are in China and Nepal. Each year, about 60,000 climbers and guides visit the Chinese north side of the mountain, which China refers to by its Tibetan name, Mount Qomolangma.

A beginner’s guide to climbing Everest: Hongkonger pens book on daunting challenge

China has set up stations to sort, recycle and break down rubbish from the mountain, which includes cans, plastic bags, stove equipment, tents and oxygen tanks.

On the Nepalese side, mountaineering expedition organisers have begun sending huge refuse bags with climbers during the spring climbing season to collect waste that then can be winched by helicopters back to the base camp.

Everest claims multiple victims each year, often in the “death zone” above 8,000 meters (26,246 feet), where the air is too thin to sustain human life.

In 2017, 648 people climbed Everest, including 202 from the north side, according to the non-profit Himalayan Database.

Six people were confirmed to have died on the mountain that year, one of them on the north side.

Source: SCMP

Posted in allowed, China alert, climb, Mount Everest, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

21/01/2019

Chinese consul general calls for stronger people-to-people bonds with U.S.

U.S.-LOS ANGELES-CHINA-DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS-40TH ANNIVERSARY-CELEBRATION

Guests attend a celebration marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic relations, in Los Angeles, the United States, Jan. 19, 2019. Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles Zhang Ping on Saturday called for concerted efforts to develop strong people-to-people bonds between China and the United States. (Xinhua/Qian Weizhong)

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) — Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles Zhang Ping on Saturday called for concerted efforts to develop strong people-to-people bonds between China and the United States.

Zhang made the remarks at a celebration held in Los Angeles marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic relations, with over 500 people participating.

Zhang said that over the past four decades, despite various ups and downs and twists and turns, China-U.S. relations have achieved historic progress, bringing huge benefits to the two peoples and contributing greatly to world peace, stability and prosperity.

“As we look at the journey that the bilateral relations have gone through, we are gratified to see that the relationship is getting wider support from different walks of life in both countries,” he said.

Chinese and American people have fond sentiments towards each other, Zhang said.

People-to-people connections and friendship between the two countries constitute the foundation of their relationship, he added.

He spoke highly of the contributions of the Chinese community to the United States in boosting understanding and friendship between the two countries.

Former U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus recalled his days in Beijing, saying he enjoyed his post as ambassador for two reasons. “One is the Chinese people, (who are) practical, pragmatic, getting things done, upbeat, positive. Second was the reward by getting involved in a relationship. U.S.-China relations are the most important bilateral relationship in the world.”

Baucus explained his principle for dealing with China-U.S. relations, namely, being patient, positive and persistent. He expressed confidence in the future development of bilateral ties.

Sher Li, president of the Chinese American Federation, a non-profit organization registered in California, said that as beneficiaries, practitioners and witnesses of China-U.S. relations, Chinese Americans cherish the friendship between both countries, and will continue to promote trade cooperation and cultural exchanges, as well as understanding between both countries and peoples.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in bonds, China alert, consul general, people-to-people, Uncategorized, USA | Leave a Comment »

21/01/2019

Premier Li seeks opinions, suggestions for draft report of government work

CHINA-BEIJING-LI KEQIANG-GOVERNMENT WORK-DRAFT REPORT-SUGGESTIONS SEEKING (CN)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, presides over a symposium where he consults representatives from the education, science and technology, culture, health, and sports sectors, as well as members of the public, on a draft version of the government work report, in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 18, 2019. Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the symposium. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) — Premier Li Keqiang has said the government should work to address key and difficult problems closely related to the people’s well-being and advance a harmonious development of economy and society.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks when presiding over a symposium Friday where he consulted representatives from the education, science and technology, culture, health, and sports sectors, as well as members of the public, on a draft version of the government work report.

Seven representatives from relevant fields introduced achievements in their work and gave suggestions on improvements to the draft report.

Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the symposium.

Premier Li said that to accomplish the work for the year, the government needs to rely on the people pulling together and also to make efforts to unleash market vitality and resist the downward pressure on the economy.

Issues in the representatives’ speeches included education of higher learning, high-quality scientific and technological innovation, urban and rural landscape protection, advancing a healthy development of film and television industry by improving social governance and relying on rule of law, prevention and control of chronic diseases of children, vaccine management, winter sports promotion and building a talent pool for the rural vitalization.

Li listened to their opinions, gave responses and asked relevant government departments to pay attention to the issues and improve their work in these regards.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in China alert, draft report, government work, opinions, Premier Li, suggestions, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

21/01/2019

Hainan to handle 6.3 million air passengers during festival travel season

HAIKOU, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) — The two major airports in south China’s island province of Hainan are expected to handle more than 6.3 million passengers during the travel season of the upcoming Spring Festival.

According to Haikou Meilan International Airport in the provincial capital, it will handle 22,071 flights and 3.5 million passengers during the travel season, which will last from Jan. 21 to March 1.

The Phoenix International Airport, in the popular resort city of Sanya, is expected to handle 15,006 flights and 2.8 million passengers during the period.

Red-eye flights will also be arranged for the first time in Meilan airport from Feb. 9 to 24, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in air passengers, China alert, festival, travel season, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

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