Beijing Today (January 10, 2003)

16 Pages·12 MB·English

by  Beijing Youth Daily Group

Paying homage to “the god of the Less than 40 yuan is enough to This happy subway troubadour
snowy mountain” . Page 16 get stuffed at pizza buffet. has no sad songs. Page 9
Page 14
FRIDAY JANUARY 10, 2003 NO. 87 CN11-0120 HTTP://BJTODAY.YNET.COM
No More Playing Doctor
Beijing University to reject
part-time PhD students
The door of Beijing University is only open
to elite minds. Photo by Photocome
T
By Xiao Rong Raising doctoral standards According to Tu, the school will ficult for them to fulfill all the re-
Get the Cluck Out
o ensure the purity “With the aim of ensuring all double the number of required quirements because they are more
and quality of its PhD doctoral students have sufficient courses while also raising the stan- easily distracted.”
programs, China’s time to conduct their research dards for examination and disser- In his view, the ease with which
top-rated university is work, we have decided to only en- tation performance. some part-time students have re-
KFC closes branch in Beihai Park
turning away “part- roll those students that will be able “Our goal is to strengthen ceived higher degrees at some uni-
time” doctoral students who can- to devote themselves full-time to management of the awarding of versities is completely unfair.
By Xiao Rong debate among local residents
not focus their full attention on their studies,” said Huang Guitian, degrees to guarantee the quality “This kind of degree corruption
The Kentucky Fried Chick- about the actual impact of
their academic work. a teacher from the College of Eco- of our graduate education, and hurts us full-time graduate stu-
en restaurant that has been the restaurant on the ancient
Beijing University’s College of nomics of Beijing University. that demands the absolute de- dents, because we may lose enthu-
operating for 10 years in Bei- garden. The Beijing Garden
Economics and Guanghua School He added that in the past, the votion of students to their re- siasm in devoting all our time to
hai Park, a former imperial Bureau then ordered the ad-
of Management both recently an- college had to make some adjust- search,” he said. our academic work,” said Bao.
garden built over 900 years ministration of Beihai Park
nounced that as of the first term ments to its academic schedule, Tu continued that officials or Both men, however, admitted
ago, closed its doors for good not to extend its contract with
of 2003, they will no longer grant for instance moving some courses entrepreneurs that failed to con- that most of their part-time class-
on Wednesday. KFC, which came to an end
admission to doctoral program to weekends or hol- centrate on their mates are serious about their
“We are closing our Beihai earlier this year.
applicants that want to pursue idays, to accommo- studies would proba- studies, though they are some-
‘The decision of branch in keeping with our Ms. Miao, director of the
degrees while maintaining full- date the needs of bly end up eliminat- times unable to attend classes
contract with the park. Both management office of Beihai
time employment. part-time doctoral our school at least ed through due to work obligations.
sides decided not to continue Park who declined to give her
Though this move has only been students. conveys the competition anyway. A rising trend
cooperation based on mutual full name, told Beijing Today
made by these two colleges, it has “That led to in- message that we The struggles of While taking measures to im- understanding,” said a state- that terminating cooperation
become the focus of heated media conveniences in our part-timers prove doctoral education, these two
will turn away ment released by Beijing Ken- like this is completely ordinary
attention and even been called the daily arrangements,” Beijing Today schools have emphasized that their
doctoral tucky Company the same day. commercial behavior, and de-
first blow in a new fight against Huang continued. interviewed two decision in no way means they are
However, a KFC public re- clined to comment on whether
“degree corruption” in China’s in- “The lack of suffi- candidates who doctoral students turning away experienced people
lations officer who requested the restaurant has had an un-
stitutions of higher education. cient time and en- cannot guarantee from the Guanghua who wish to continue their studies
anonymity revealed the com- favorable impact on the image
Degree corruption is a term giv- ergy among some absolute devotion School of Manage- in order to further their career de- pany will try to keep up with of the park.
en to a practice common among part-time students to ment, both of whom velopment.
to their studies or local demand by finding an ap- “The KFC branch in Beihai
universities nationwide since the really go after their expressed approval “We only require prospective
propriate nearby location for undoubtedly is out of keeping
late 1980s. It refers to a specific studies was the main who hope to bump of the new enroll- students to give up their current
another restaurant. with the style of an imperial
body of part-time students, main- issue.” along to a degree.’ ment standards. jobs during their three or four
Of the 90 KFC branches in garden,” said Wang Zhongy-
ly made up of government officials The College of —Tian Kun, “It’s really diffi- years of graduate study so that the capital, the Beihai outlet, ing, press official of the Beijing
and entrepreneurs, who easily earn Economics is now cult for part-time they can be fully focused,” said
doctoral student which opened in the Shuang- Garden Bureau.
Master’s or doctoral degrees de- considering rede- students to earn Huang Guitian.
at Guanghua hong pavilion in 1993, was the The move echoes the stipu-
spite doing relatively little academ- signing its graduate PhDs since they can’t Beijing University is not the
only one located in a park, the lations of the new Statute on
ic work. Moreover, such students programs to raise the School of fully focus on their only prominent university to take
officer added. Beijing’s Parks that went into
have their tuition fees paid by their requirements for Management, studies,” said Tian such steps in order to improve
In 2000, some members of effect on January 1. According
work units or employers or totally earning advanced Beijing University Kun, who enrolled the quality of its doctoral educa- the Beijing committee of the to that document, businesses
waived by the universities. degrees. in the Guanghua tion system.
Chinese People’s Consultative that operate in parks must
One major reason for the devel- The decision to School in 2000 as a Renmin University of China is
Conference put forth a propos- be kept in harmony with the
opment of the degree corruption no longer enroll part-time doc- doctoral student after earning a considering requiring working doc-
al that a foreign fast food res- overall landscape.
problem has been attributed to the toral students is just one part Master’s degree at Beijing Univer- toral candidates to promise to de-
taurant should be considered The KFC Beihai branch was
government’s policy of requiring of the college’s overall reform ef- sity. vote at least one year to full-time
an inappropriate resident of the first restaurant in a city
strong academic backgrounds for forts, Huang stressed. Tian passed his doctoral qual- study, according to Liu Dachun,
an imperial garden. park to be closed after the is-
higher positions in order to im- The Guanghua School of Man- ification exams, required before vice president of graduate studies
That bill sparked heated suing of the new statute.
prove the quality of top levels of agement has stated it had simi- starting thesis work, after acquir- at the university.
leadership. lar motives in making the policy ing over 40 credits in his first year- He stressed that whether a
According to an editorial run in change. and-a-half of studies, a course load doctoral candidate studies full-
Beijing Youth Daily on January 5, “Starting as early as 1998, our he said was a heavy burden even time or part-time, the key ele-
“If the practice of these two colleges school stipulated that tutors un- as a full-time student. ment to academic success is the
of Beijing University was expand- der the age of 50 are not allowed “I think the school’s emphasis strictness of a university’s over-
ed to all universities in China, that to instruct part-time doctoral stu- on strengthening academic work all graduate program.
would go a long way towards fight- dents, and that policy was later ex- is a good way to help us build “I think the requirement that
ing degree corruption by prevent- tended to all our tutors,” said Tu up a strong base for our disser- doctoral students study full-time
ing part-time graduate students Ping, vice president of the Guang- tations. Part-time students who will become a trend sooner or lat-
from using public money to pursue hua School. lack sound knowledge of theory er,” said Tian Kun. “The decision
degrees.” As a result of demands at work, can greatly benefit from all the re- of our school at least conveys
Both schools, however, told most former part-time doctoral stu- quired coursework,” added Tian. the message that we will turn
Beijing Today that their basic in- dents missed many classes, Tu add- Bao Minggang, another doctor- away doctoral candidates who
tent in launching the plan was to ed. He said that with the school’s al student at the Guanghua school, cannot guarantee absolute devo-
improve the overall quality of their increasing emphasis on academic said, “Even though some part-time tion to their studies or who hope
doctoral programs, not to specifi- rigor, it has become all but impos- doctoral students manage to pull to bump along to a degree.” The once-buzzing KFC Beihai branch meets a quiet end on Wednesday.
cally address the degree corrup- sible for part-time students to keep off studying and working at the Photo by Binger
tion issue. up with course work. same time, it’s definitely more dif- EDITOR: LIU FENG DESIGNER: LI SHI
■Under the auspices of the Information Office of Beijing Municipal Government ■Run by Beijing Youth Daily ■President: Zhang Yanping ■Editor in Chief: Zhang Yabin ■Executive Deputy Editor in Chief: He Pingping ■Direc-
tor of the Editorial Department: Liu Feng ■Price: 2 yuan per issue ■26 yuan for 3 months ■Address: No.23, Building A, Baijiazhuang Dongli, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China ■Zip Code: 100026 ■Telephone/Fax: (010)
6590-2525 ■E-mail: [email protected] ■Hotline for subscription with Red Cap Company: [phone] ■ Overseas Code Number: D1545 ■ Overseas Distribution Agent: China International Book Trading Corporation
TRENDS
2
动 态
JANUARY 10, 2003
E-mail: [email protected] EDITOR: LIU FENG DESIGNER: LI SHI
Reorganization Regulated
Bring Your Credit Card
By Ema Ma
“Consume with credit cards,” will
be the hot slogan of 2003, if Beijing’s
municipal government has anything
to do with it.
By Ema Ma of various loopholes to strip high-qual- Numerous bad debts and improp- rise in corruption, which some local
By 2004, all service establishments
The interpretations to the reorgani- ity assets from the original compa- erly placed unemployed have caused governments have approved reorgani-
in major business districts, tourism
zation-related civil lawsuit issued by nies. At the same time, they have left social unrest in some areas. “The origi- zation plans in a haphazard manner.
sites and other places around the pro-
the Supreme Court will go into effect huge amounts of overdue debts, redun- nal good intentions have been distorted Aiming at the most common dis-
posed Olympic facilities will accept
from February 1. dant employees and other non-profit as an excuse to cast aside the burden,” putes surrounding the question of who
credit cards. In other areas, more
Since the trial from 1993 to trans- making assets of the original parent one official described the status of the assumes the debts after reorganiza-
than 50 percent of service establish-
form government-administered state company in order to dodge debts, and reorganization. tion? The interpretation clearly states:
ments with an annual turnover of
enterprises to more efficient free enter- avoid obligations to the retired employ- Furthermore, the fact that lacking the new company will assume the
over 500,000 yuan will accept credit
prises with clearly defined ownership, ees, and even cashed the state assets supervision from relevant debtors, judi- related obligations with the original
cards. The proportion of consumption
many companies have taken advantage for own use. ciaries and notarization has led to a company.
using credit cards compared to total
consumption will increase from five
Bidding Closes for percent in 2001 to 20 percent. The
number of automatic teller machines
will increase to 3,000.
Olympic Projects
By 2008, 90 percent of business
establishments in Beijing will accept
By Xiao Rong credit cards, and card consumption
A total of 43 bidding papers were submitted by the January will account for 25 percent of total con-
5 deadline for the seven Beijing Olympic construction projects sumption, according to the detailed
invited for international bids, the city planning commission blueprint the government has drawn
announced yesterday. up for credit card development in
The National Gymnasium and Olympic Village proved the most Beijing.
popular projects, with 13 tendering documents submitted. The Shortcut for Passport
National Sports Stadium followed, attracting seven competitors for
Services
the final round of bidding.
Only two bidding papers were received for the Beijing Country By Su Qiang / Ivy Zhang
Equestrian Park, which will be located in Shunyi district. A second Starting from Monday, Beijingers
round of bidding may be organized, in accordance with China’s bid- who require passports to go abroad for
ding law, which specifies a minimum of three bidding candidates. personal reasons may no longer need
Final candidates for the second round of bidding will be selected to visit the Public Security Bureau
from the 43 tendering papers by February, by an evaluation panel con- Entry-Exit Administration, near the
sisting of domestic and foreign experts. Lama Temple.
The administration set up two
Companies Get Assistance
new passport service posts in Zhong-
guancun, Haidian district and the
Chasing Olympic Business Central Business District in Chaoy-
ang district.
The Haidian post went into opera-
By Shan Jinliang tion Monday and the Chaoyang post
As of Wednesday, companies from Zhongguancun Science Park is expected to go into service some-
have a new channel to participate in business opportunities arising time after Spring Festival, according
from the Beijing 2008 Olympics, with the establishment of a coordina- to the administration.
tion committee between the park and the Beijing Olympics Organiz- It Came from The measure is intended as a
Articles carried on China’s unmanned space-
ing Committee. convenience for locals, as more and
ship, Shenzhou IV, are removed from the capsule
The 23-member committee, called Olympics-Zhongguancun more Beijingers have been traveling
in Beijing on Wednesday. The spaceship landed
Coordination Committee was announced at the fifth Zhongguan- abroad in recent years.
successfully in the designated area, with crops,
cun Promotion Fair and Investment Negotiation Meeting. With Outer Space! The new posts will handle first
seeds, stamps and other articles inside, after com-
the slogan “scientific Olympics,” the 2008 Beijing Olympics Orga- time passport application only. After
pleting its six day and 18 hour mission, orbiting
nizing Committee hopes to inject more technological elements to submitting the papers, applicants do
ensure a great Games. the earth 108 times. (Xinhua Photo) not need to return to collect their
“It will serve as a bridge between the science park and the passports, as they will be delivered
Olympics Organizing Committee,” said Chen Li, director of the by post to the applicant’s designated
Fees Jump for EMBAs
committee’s office, “On one hand, we will collect the project infor- address.
mation and provide it to the companies in the park, on the other For those who want to apply for
hand, we will select some well-performing projects or companies emergency services, a ten-day turn
and recommend them to the market promotion department of the around time is available.
Organizing Committee.” By Shan Jinliang yuan, and the admission to the joint EMBA
Bids Invited for Subway
The committee will also help develop Olympics-oriented proj- Shanghai Fudan University has increased class run by Fudan and the University of
ects, and will help park companies get contact with companies who its fees for its Executive Master of Business Washington, was raised from 300,000 yuan in Station Designs
have offered projects for the Olympics. Administration program (EMBA) from 230,000 2002 to 330,000 yuan in 2003.
By Hou Mingxin
The committee members are from the China Academy of Social to 238,000 yuan. The increase brings it into The high admission fees seem to be damp-
The Xicheng District Urban Plan-
Sciences, professional associations, the Science Park’s professional line with the fees charged by China Europe ening the enthusiasm of China’s top manag-
ning Bureau issued a notice Satur-
associations, and the Beijing Development Area. International Business School (CEIBS), which ers to enroll in such courses. Yang Xiaoyan,
day inviting public bid for the design
Zhao Mulan, chairwoman of the committee, said the work model established China’s first EMBA program in director of Beijing University’s EMBA class,
of eight stations of the No. 4 subway
and the specific work content is still not determined, as it has just 1995. said the admission was not a decisive factor
line, which will begin construction
been established. For the whole afternoon, she and her colleagues EMBA programs usually consist of weekend for someone to choose an EMBA class, since
this year. The public bidding program
listened to reports by senior officials from the Beijing Olympic courses tailored to meet the needs of mid-level the candidates are able and willing to pay
will start this month.
Organizing Committee, and she said all the specific work on Olym- managers who have proven records in business such a fee.
The 26 kilometer subway line
pics projects will start soon. and who are ready to move up the corporate Yang said they had to choose 50 members
will run from Majiapu in southern
ladder. from 200 to 300 applicants in its branches
Beijing’s Fengtai District, passing
Durex Victor in Condom Dispute Unlike traditional full-time MBA programs, of Shanghai and Shenzhen last November.
through Fengtai, Xuanwu, Xicheng
which are designed for students who have Wang Xiaozhong, marketing and PR director of
and Haidian districts, ending at the
recently acquired their undergraduate degrees CEIBS said his class was still as popular as
By Xiao Rong to five million yuan. Summer Palace in northern Beijing.
and have little or no management experience, before, and they would recruit one from every
Durex has defeated local The court ruled, however, When complete, the line will
the EMBA is structured to accommodate sea- three.
rival Jissbon, not in a commer- that Qingdao London Inter- have 22 stations, including eight
soned business professionals who can bring a But insiders warn the high admissions of
cial battle, but in a legal dis- national had not presented in Xicheng District. From south to
wealth of knowledge and experiences to the some domestic EMBA classes could prove coun-
pute. enough evidence to justify its north, these will be Xuanwumen,
classroom. ter-productive, as they are unable to provide
The lawsuit between the two demand for five million yuan in Xidan, Lingjinghutong, Xisi,
Several other EMBA classes have also sufficient and qualified faculty members.
best known condom brands in compensation. Ping’anli, Xinjiekouxi, Xizhimen and
raised their admission fees to over 200,000 Wang said the EMBA teaching staff are still
China ended last Wednesday, “The fact that we got compen- Beijing Zoo.
yuan, since the State Council’s Degree Com- lacking in many developed countries, and the
with the Beijing No. 1 Inter- sation was much more impor- In order to take full advantage
mittee approved 30 EMBA classes in August lack of qualified staff is more severe in China.
mediate People’s Court order- tant than how much we were of the commercial profit of the
2002, including Beijing, Tsinghua and Fudan Lack of qualified teaching staff will lead to a
ing Wuhan Jissbon Sanitary paid,” claimed Dong Yongsen, infrastructure projects, bidders are
Universities. downgrading of the quality of EMBA classes,
Products to pay compensation lawyer for the plaintiff. “The required to consider the integration
The annual admission for Beijing and and as a result, a reduction in their ability to
of 100,000 yuan to Qingdao final verdict clearly shows that of the proposed stations with the
Tsinghua universities’ programs was 250,000 attract new participants.
London International Latex for Jissbon violated the rights of existing structures on the ground.
its unlawful competition. Durex through false claims.” Regulation Implemented on Beijing to Sell Municipal Bonds
As reported in Beijing Today He also expressed concern
on November 29, Qingdao over the lack of specific laws in By Hou Mingxin
London International, the China allowing for the severe Foreign Criminals In order to raise money to build
maker of Durex condoms in punishment of those who vio- highways, bridges, subways, light-
China, accused Wuhan Jissbon late the legal rights of others. rail, and other infrastructure proj-
last April of making false claims Wuhan Jissbon’s representa- By Su Wei Relatives or guardians of these criminals are ects, the Beijing government is
and using material on its web- tives expressed dissatisfaction The Regulation on Foreign Criminals’ Meet- requested to provide a written application to planning to sell municipal bonds,
sites plagiarized from its own, over the verdict, saying they ing and Communication effective as of January 1, these bureaus through their embassies and con- according to a report published in
and demanded damages of up would file an appeal. 2003 is the first written specified regulation set sulates when they apply for the first meeting. Beijing Youth Daily on Sunday.
by the Ministry of Justice since 1949. The information attached is the same as those Research project findings con-
“In the past few years, the increased opportu- for the diplomatic and consular officials. ducted by Beihang University on
nities for foreigners to extend their relation with Responses to officials meeting with crimi- the security of the proposed bonds
China in the areas such as culture and commerce nals are to be given within five working days indicate they should be limited to
would incur the increased possibilities for them to in writing. For the approved ones, detailed within 11 billion yuan.
violate Chinese laws and regulations,” says a staff arrangement and the confirmation to the appli- Detailed research and study has
member of the Bureau of Prison Administration cation are attached. been carried out on the state of
of the Ministry of Justice. Responses to relatives or guardians upon local public finance, with materials
“By the end of 2001, the total number of for- the first time are also to be given within five including data related to Beijing’s
eign criminals in Chinese prisons exceeded 1,100. working days in writing. For the approved municipal financial revenue and
These people are almost from every continent.” ones a confirmation is attached. For the conse- disbursal from 1971 to 2000.
He said the handling of foreign criminals quent meetings the responses are to be given Han Liyan, a professor at Bei-
has long been on the basis of the Vienna Con- within two working days. hang University, told media, “In
vention on Consular Relations and joint con- There are usually one or two such meetings order to control and supervise the
ventions concluded with other countries, as with no more than three people involved. Each credit risk levels of the municipal
well as the international practice. lasts around one hour. If there are demands for bonds, a strict censorship and a lim-
In the regulations, diplomatic and consular more or a longer meeting, or with more people ited size of the municipal bonds are
officials are requested to provide a written involved, the prison would give certain consid- necessary. Meanwhile, the govern-
Beijing Auction Trading publicly auctioned 19 properties belong- application with detailed information to the eration. ment should also strengthen finance
ing to Liu Xiaoqing to recoup losses caused by evasion of tax by provincial level prison administration bureaus, Letters between the foreign criminals and supervising. Issuers should disclose
Liu’s companies. Eighteen apartments were sold for 6.61 million whenever they apply for meeting the criminals their relatives or guardians are to be posted once details of their financial condition
yuan. (Xinhua Photo) from their countries. having passed examination. through official statements.”
DEVELOPMENT
3
JANUARY 10, 2003
E-mail: [email protected] EDITOR: LIU FENG DESIGNER: LI SHI
Beijing Pajero Sport Rolls Out
ConocoPhillips Starts
Oil Production in Bohai
By Zhao Hongyi
Phillips China Inc., a subsidiary of the US
integrated petroleum giant ConocoPhillips, an-
nounced earlier this week the beginning of pro-
duction at its plant in the Peng Lai 19-3 field
in China’s Bohai Bay, three years after the well
was discovered.
ConocoPhillips and China National Offshore
Oil Corporation Ltd. (CNOOC) signed a petro-
The Pajero leum contract in December 1994 granting Cono-
Sport produced coPhillips the right to explore Block 11/05, a 2.3
by Beijing Jeep million-acre area located in Bohai Bay.
Corporation Phillips China drilled the well in May 1999.
rolled off the CNOOC participated in the development with
production line a 51 percent working interest. Daily gross pro-
in Beijing on duction of the wells is put at 35,000 to 40,000
Wednesday. It’s barrels of oil per day, of which 17,500 to 20,000
a joint project barrels will be taken by ConocoPhillips.
by Beijing Jeep
and Daim-
lerChrysler, and Healthy Profits for China
the rst new
product to be Construction Bank
released since
the two com-
The China Construction Bank announced
panies extended
2002 profits of 34.43 billion yuan (about US$4.16
their contract
billion) on Wednesday, an increase of 4.8 billion
for a further 30
yuan, or 16.2 percent, over the previous year.
years.
Of the total profits, 30.1 billion yuan was
Photo by
used to write off bad debts, leaving gross profits
He Dengfeng
totaling 4.33 billion yuan.
A spokesman for the bank said the bank’s
business efficiency had greatly improved, as in-
Foreign Banks Launch Internet Services in China
dicated by an assets-to-income ratio of 1.16 per-
cent and a return rate of 27.68 percent, increases
of 0.04 and 2.87 percent respectively, over the
previous year.
By Hou Mingxin “Our personal e-Banking services on-year in the world’s financial In 2002, he noted, the bank’s loans increased
HSBC, the Bank of East Asia in the mainland will enhance our institutions. by 16.8 percent, with the percentage of non-per-
(BEA) and Hang Seng Bank have service and help maximize the ac- E-banking covers 20 percent and forming loans dropping 2.94 percent.
just become the first group of over- quisition of new customers. This is 12 percent of Hang Seng Bank and The bank’s investment in bonds and capital
seas banks to launch online banking an important step forward in our BEA’s total business. trading generated returns of 19.8 billion yuan,
services in China’s mainland. plan to eventually become one of the “Because of the gap in the num- an increase of 9 percent, and its intermediate
With the approval of the People’s most prominent foreign banks in the ber of branches between us and local businesses produced 4.8 billion yuan, up 36
Bank of China, the three banks can mainland,” said Vincent Cheng, vice- banks, it is difficult for us to compete percent from the previous year.
offer Internet-based services includ- chairman of Hang Seng Bank. with local banks in traditional trade,” (Xinhua)
ing account balance and transaction This new service removes time and said Ji Yunbing, vice director of BEA’s
inquiries, capital transfer, inquiries geographical constraints on banking Shanghai branch. “So we hope to nar-
about exchange rates and interest transactions, allowing BEA custom- row the distance between us and our Kodak to Expand Digital
rates, opening fixed-term deposit ac- ers to access their bank accounts and clients through the Internet.”
counts, ordering check books and up- other BEA banking services anytime, Following China’s entry into the Photo Printing Service
grading individual data. anywhere, BEA said. WTO, domestic banks face fierce com-
Dicky Yip, Chief Executive of China With the development of the in- petition from their overseas rivals.
Business at HSBC, said, “The launch formation industry, online banking The emergence of e-banks is a conve- Kodak, the US-based film giant, announced
of Internet banking services here has systems which offer lower costs and nient way for overseas banks to over- Tuesday in Shanghai it would jointly promote a
opened a new chapter for HSBC’s per- better services have become popular come their disadvantages, which will service with Nokia to print photos taken by digi-
sonal financial services in mainland around the world. help them take more of China’s mar- tal cameras in mobile phones.
China. We aim to build on the Group’s From 1997 to 2000, investment in ket, said Sun Weidong, a manager The company launched the service because
successful Internet banking experience and provide quality online services to Internet-based banking services in- with the Industrial and Commercial mobile phones with digital cameras were becom-
in many countries around the world, customers in the China market.” creased by about 36 percent year- Bank of China. ing popular among Chinese, said Chen Yaorong,
general manager of the Consumer Imaging De-
partment under Kodak (China) Co. Ltd.
Pandamonium for Mobile Company Sales Force
The company expected sales of the new
products, part mobile phone and part camera,
would top 12 million units this year, account-
ing for 20 percent of the total sales of mobile
By Ema ma “We will set up a new company comers are regarded merely as a Ericsson and Nokia. Microcell has phones in China.
“Turmoil has broken out in the concentrating on marketing of Panda front for the international giants who bought Ericsson’s 65 percent stake in “Printing photos taken by mobile phones will
sales force of Panda, the company mobiles to replace the original sales provide much of their products, such Panda and will cooperate with Pan- be an increasing business for our photo finishing
which offered the top bid among department and appoint our vice pres- as Capital and Nokia, Eastcom and da in design, production and over- services,” Chen said.
China’s mobile phone companies for ident as the leader of the new compa- Motorola. Panda is not an exception. seas sales. The new service not only provides prints on
prime time advertising rights on ny. This is the reason for the personnel Thus far, it has been seen mainly as According to the agreement, Mi- paper, but also on cards and cups as fun gifts.
CCTV,” Chengdu Economic Daily has changes,” Hua continued. a workshop for Ericsson. crocell will continuously update the In another major step to expand its digital
just revealed. Despite information from reliable Panda’s “own brand” phones were design of the phones to keep in touch business, Kodak China has just launched its
The report claimed that the com- sources that many other branches’ really clones of Ericsson’s outdated with the latest fashions. The compa- first online service for photo printing here.
pany’s sales director and the man- heads had handed in their resigna- models and these accounted for no ny has also guaranteed that for ev- Customers can send digital photos to the Ko-
ager of the Guangdong branch had tions, Hua denied there would be more than one sixth of Panda’s total ery phone sold in the local market, it dak service through the Internet and have them
been fired following the New Year’s further departures of top level ex- production volumes in 2001. The will sell two overseas. printed instead of going there in person.
Day holiday and that 100 middle lev- ecutives. “Only one head has sub- company only made a profit through Panda has also joined forces with The service will be carried out in other big
el sales managers and 2000 sales mitted his resignation until now,” processing Ericsson’s mobiles. Tianchuang, the biggest mobile agent cities like Beijing, Guangzhou and Hangzhou by
staff are awaiting re-appointment to he said. New partnership in Jiangsu Province to expand its the end of this year. (Xinhua)
new jobs and offices. Big year A bold new dawn beckoned for sales network all over the country.
Panda Mobile — A number of local players have Panda when its twelve-year cooper- Following up on its efforts to inte-
“Normal personnel reshufe” swarmed into the promising mobile ation with Ericsson was ended last grate its design, production and mar- Degussa to Be
The company has played down the phone market in recent years, join- year after the Scandinavian multi- keting facilities in 2002, Panda aims
move. “Personnel adjustment is un- ing the big names like Nokia, Er- national unveiled its global stream- to spend 200 million yuan on adver- Responsible Citizen
avoidable according to our new de- icsson and Motorola. Local brands’ lining plan. Panda has struck up a tising this year. It’s all part of an am-
velopment goals for 2003,” said Hua market share has soared from 5 per- new partnership with Microcell, one bitious plan to get a head start in
Yongqing, Assistant to the General cent in 2000 to 36 percent in 2002. of Europe’s major mobile platform 2003, which many believe will be a By A Yi
Manager of Panda Mobile, “this is However, due to the lack of their designers which was once also an re- decisive year for the 36 domestic mo- Degussa AG, the Dusseldorf-based specialty
just a normal business operation.” own technology, many of these new- search and development partner with bile phone companies. chemistry researcher and producer, has won a
license for investment business in China. The
company said it was committed to assisting
Cold Dawn for CITIC Securities
China’s progress towards becoming a chemical
industrial giant in Asia as well as providing
environment friendly chemical products for the
upcoming 2008 Olympic Games.
By Shan Jinliang had expected, even though he had market in China, the fact that CITIC China has been cautious in granting invest-
When Wang Dongming, chairman anticipated the shares would not per- Securities’ profits reached around 80 ment business licenses to multinationals, with
of CITIC Securities, toasted the com- form well to begin with. million yuan by the end of Novem- stringent requirements in terms of business ex-
pany’s official listing on Shanghai Guotai Jun’an Securities Insti- ber last year was still fairly respect- tent, product quality and sustainability of their
Stock Market Monday, he probably tute’s Yang Qingli said it was not able. But the operating capital flow engagement in the local market. “The number
didn’t expect the share price of CIT- strange for a new share to lose value was unpredictable for the company of licenses granted up till now is no more than
IC to fall so hard on the first day. given the general drop in the coun- in 2002, and the company lost mon- 200,” according to Eric Baden, who will be presi-
Wang’s company was China’s try’s stock market throughout 2002 ey in business operation, investment dent of Degussa (China) Holding.
first listed securities operation to and the early days of 2003. Yang at- and finance. Degussa has been producing specialty chem-
be approved by the China Se- tributed the bad performance of CIT- The falling trend of CITIC Secu- ical products such as carbon blacks, amino ac-
curities Regulatory Commission IC Securities to the close connection rities will bring a negative impact ids and water treatment chemicals in China
(CSRC) last September, and it was between securities companies and to the whole stock market, said Qin since 1988. It has eleven branches in Nanning,
also the first stock to be listed in the stock market. Hong, an analyst from Tianding Se- Guangzhou, Shanghai, Qingdao and Beijing, and
the new year. Others think the declining profits curities. He added that since the CIT- Wang Dongming, chairman of CITIC employs over 800 workers. Annual sales in Chi-
The CITIC shares started trading of the company led to its uncertain IC Securities stock issue, with a total Securities Photos by Photocome na are 210 million euros.
at a price of 5.53 yuan and closed start on the stock market. According number of 2.48 billion shares, was Degussa (China) Holding will be the group’s
at 5.01 yuan, which was only 11.33 to New Securities, CITIC listed itself such a large offering, it could drag IPOs this year.” investment business operation in China, per-
percent higher than the issue price. as either the top or the No. 2 among down some other big stocks. Other analysts say the cold mar- forming as a platform providing support to its
The cold market response will cast China’s securities companies in prof- “It was a still a good beginning ket response to CITIC Securities may local business expansion. In particular, the new
a shadow on the stock market early its in 2000 and 2001, but its 2002 for securities companies,” said Yang, make the listing of other securities company will help determine the direction of the
this year, analysts say. profits fell by around 30 percent, as “and other offerings will follow from companies more difficult. Knowing group’s local research and development. It will
Mou Tao from CITIC’s Research predicted by Sohu’s financial report four or five securities companies like his rivals will have a harder time also increase contact with China’s universities,
and Consulting Department said the earlier last year. Guotai Jun’an Securities and Hitone launching IPOs this year should pro- and foster the education and training of Chinese
market response was worse than he In light of the plummeting stock Securities who are ready to launch vide Wang some comfort. junior executives.
OUTLOOK
4
JANUARY 10, 2003
E-mail: [email protected] EDITOR: LIU FENG DESIGNER: LI SHI
Bush Unveils
Bush, Cheney To See
Tax-cut Windfall
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (Reuters)- US
President George W. Bush and Vice Presi-
dent Dick Cheney each stand to reap thou-
$674 Billion sands of dollars in savings from Bush’s
proposal announced Tuesday to eliminate
taxes on stock dividends.
Based on income reported in his tax
returns for 2001, Bush would have saved
$16,511 on dividend payments of $43,805
if his new proposal had been in effect
Stimulus Plan for that year. Cheney, who had dividends
of $278,103 in 2001, would have saved
$104,823.
Bush deflected a question on Monday
about how he would personally benefit
from the dividend-tax cut. “My money is in
C a blind trust ... so I don’t know if I’ve got
term because his father, despite having growth is highly dubious. any dividends,” he told reporters.
HICAGO, Jan. 7 (Reuters) - bracket to 28 percent, the 35 percent astronomical popularity ratings after Many US states have announced they Bush and Cheney also benefited hand-
US President Bush on Tues- bracket to 33 percent and the top 38.6 the Gulf War in 1992, lost the election lack the funds to match federal invest- somely from the $1.35 trillion tax cut
day unveiled a $674 billion percent bracket to 35 percent. for his second term that same year. ment and fully implement the initiative. passed by Congress in 2001. Cheney saved
plan to boost the American — Increasing to $75,000 from The major reason was the domestic eco- Though the Bush administration has an estimated $43,000 on a tax bill of $1.72
economy by scrapping taxes $25,000 the amount small businesses nomic depression. agreed to increase funding to states, the million that year, and Bush saved an esti-
investors pay on dividends and speed- can write off for investments in new What are the critical problems abilities of individual states to imple- mated $7,205.
ing income tax reductions. equipment.
facing the US economy? ment the plan and their results are very
Bush’s proposal, unveiled in a speech — Expanding the 10 percent tax
The real problems in the US econ- much in question. British Insurer Refuses to Cover
at the Economic Club of Chicago, set off bracket to the first $7,000 in income
omy are, first, over-investment in pro- Li Gang, director of US Stud-
a major debate in Washington over how from $6,000. al-Qaeda Attacks
duction facilities and infrastructure ies, Institute of World Devel-
best to deal with a US economy strug- — Fully implementing tax breaks LONDON, Jan. 3 (Independent) - The
during the prosperity of the 1990s, opment, Development Research
gling with a six percent unemployment for married couples. growing threat from terrorism has led
particularly in the telecommunications Center, State Council
rate and Americans wary of investing — Immediately expanding the child Britain’s biggest home insurer to specifi-
industry. This increased companies’ Are there any other means to
in a three-year bear market. tax credit to $1,000 from the current cally exclude coverage for chemical, bio-
debt burdens, forcing them to reduce stimulate economic growth in the
The White House said the plan will $600. (Adam Entous) logical and “dirty” nuclear attacks.
future investment and driving small US?
give 92 million taxpayers an average Analysts’ Take: Norwich Union warned its clients that
companies into bankruptcy. In a free market economy, interest
tax cut of $1,083 this year. Up to 35 mil- their home and content policies would not
Secondly, the US economy’s future rates and taxation are the two major
lion people who get income from divi- Chen Baoshen, senior entitle them to compensation for damage
is plagued by many uncertainties, such keys in macro-economic management.
dends could benefit, thereby increasing researcher, Institute of American caused by such attacks. Norwich Union
as corporate scandals, the possible war Democrats argue that tax cuts
consumer spending and investment. Studies, Chinese Academy of Social insures one in five of all homes in Britain.
against Iraq, and the unclear picture should focus more on poor and vulner-
The dividend tax elimination will Sciences Other insurance companies are
for solving the issue of North Korea’s able people in order to increase their
cost $364 billion over 10 years. Why is President Bush promot- expected to follow suit. (Kim Sengupta)
nuclear capability. consumption capabilities. The federal
About $3.6 billion would be pro- ing this kind of economic stimulus
What are possible factors ham- government should provide more busi-
vided to states to help create so-called package? pering the efficacy of the new initia- ness loans to small and medium enter- Konica, Minolta Unveil Merger Plan
personal re-employment accounts for The initiative is the third economic
tive? prises to stimulate a larger part of the TOKYO, Jan. 7 (Reuters) - Japan’s
people having a hard time finding step Bush has taken in his presidency,
The Bush administration still has to US economy. Konica and Minolta, two film photogra-
work. after his first tax reduction plan was
wait for approval from the Congress and The key is that a government should phy giants struggling for a foothold in the
In addition to eliminating all taxes carried out in 2001 and he named a new
Senate before implementing the plan, increase the whole nation’s confidence in digital era, unveiled a merger plan Tues-
on dividends paid by shareholders, treasury secretary and economic advi-
neither of which will come in before the domestic economic growth. Many econo- day that they hope will put them in the
Bush proposed: sor last month.
second half of this year. mists have listed ‘economic confidence’ big league of camera and office machine
— Accelerating reductions in income Analysts believe Bush’s latest pack-
Most of the tax reduction plans will as the third role a government can play makers with Canon and Ricoh.
tax rates for all income brackets, now age is aimed at consolidating his polit-
clearly benefit the rich, who are not in managing its economy, aside from The merger, due in August and likely
scheduled for 2004 and 2006, to this ical position for the upcoming 2004
expected to greatly increase spending controlling interest rates and tax rates. to create a Konica-controlled entity with
year. That would lower the 27 percent US presidential election. Bush is prob-
either way. Therefore, the initiative’s China has been doing quite well in this a current market value of 460 billion yen
bracket to 25 percent, the 30 percent ably concerned about winning a second
actual ability to stimulate economic regard so far. (Zhao Hongyi) ($3.86 billion), will bring a 10 percent cut
over the next three years in their com-
bined 38,500 work force.
Konica, the world’s third-largest photo
filmmaker, and Minolta, a leading maker
of single-lens reflex cameras hobbled by
O heavy debts, are increasingly focusing on
ver 40 automakers office machines, where they earn more
around the world, than half their combined revenues.
including big names (Edmund Klamann)
like GM, Ford, Nissan, are
showing off their latest GE Raises Workers’ Health Co-Pays
car designs, products, and
WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 (Washington
glitzy dream cars at the
Post) - General Electric Co. increased the
Detroit’s Cobo Center,
share of medical costs paid by its workers
where the 2003 North
from January 1 - setting the stage for the
America International Auto
first strike against the industrial giant in
Show is underway this
three decades.
week. The show has become
GE plans to increase the amount that
an annual gathering for the
workers pay for doctors visits and other
world’s auto industry.
health care expenses from about $500 to
While nearly all major
$700 a year, said company spokesman
carmakers are predicting
Gary Sheffer. Overall costs to workers will
in Detroit that US car
go up about 20 percent above the current
sales will increase in 2003,
$1,000 a year.
even most analysts forsee
The company said that its health care
a decline in light vehicle
costs have increased 45 percent, from $965
sales in 2002.
million in 1999 to $1.4 billion in 2002.
Oldsmobile unveiled its
Unions representing approximately
futuristic Aerotech concept
17,500 of GE’s 121,000 workers already
vehicle at the show on
have authorized a strike against the com-
January 6.
pany, saying they will set the date for the

strike once the increases take effect.
Xinhua Photo
(Martha McNeil Hamilton)
Italy Wants Fiat to Stay
America West to Sell Food on Flights
PHOENIX, USA, Jan. 3 (AP) - America
West, US’ eighth-largest carrier will test a
“Buy on Board” program starting Monday
M that allows passengers to buy meals cost-
ILAN, Italy, Jan. 4 (Reuters) 80 percent in 2004. Fiat has an option to This is critical to Italy’s economy, which This rapid business diversification ing from $3 to $10. At least two other air-
- Italian financier Roberto sell the entire unit to GM next year. is heavily dependent on the country’s and globalization campaign left Fiat lines - Continental and Northwest - are
Colaninno confirmed he was Italian entrepreneur Roberto Cola- external ties. Auto and Fiat Group strapped for cash, considering similar moves.
studying a “friendly” plan to intervene ninno has said he is preparing a rescue Fiat’s auto sales have been falling which is the major factor behind the “The program is designed to offset
that foresees “direct involvement” in plan for Fiat, and news reports have in countries in which it produces cars, company’s current crisis. the cost of providing food, not to make
the running of Fiat. said a key element of his plan is to including Turkey, Brazil and Tunisia. In How can Fiat get out of its trou- a profit,” Monahan said. “We’re trying
Fiat said it was sticking with its release GM from its obligation to buy the 1990s, Fiat Auto’s market share in the bles? to meet customer needs without raising
existing restructuring and debt-slash- the rest of Fiat Auto. EU dropped 15 percent to less than 10 Two possibilities lie ahead. ticket prices.”
ing plan. Colaninno is thought to have Rick Wagoner, president and CEO percent. Its share of the Italian market First, the Italian government will do Other airlines, including Southwest,
the political backing for an “Italian of the world’s largest automaker, said has fallen to 22.77 percent in 2002 from its utmost to provide help. Last year, United, Delta and American, said Thurs-
solution” to Fiat’s problems, avoiding his company plans to continue with the previous year’s 25.43 percent. the government extended the group day they have no immediate plans to begin
the sale of loss-making Fiat Auto to the activities that it has with Fiat “for The second factor is Fiat Group’s a number of tax exemptions, greatly selling food.
partner General Motors Corp. the long term.” business diversification and globaliza- reducing the financial pressure on the But some said the effort could improve
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has But he also said he prefers not to get tion efforts in the 1990s. company. airplane food. (Beth DeFalco)
repeatedly said he wants Italy’s biggest involved in any prospective deals involv- The car-based private (family con- The Italian government has been
private sector employer to stay Italian. ing suitors for Fiat, and described the trolled) group entered the IT business active in managing ways out for the
(Heather Prentice) company’s situation as “fast moving.” solutions sector and consolidated its group. This week, Fiat’s management
(John Porretto) stance in businesses such as insurance group and workers’ union reached an
CEO: GM’s Investment in Fiat Is Analysts’ Take: and banking services, publishing and agreement, making compromises on lay-
Long-Term communications, the metallurgical offs and wage cuts. Under this new agree-
DETROIT, US, Jan. 6 (AP) - General Luo Hongbo, director & senior industry, as well as its traditional ment, Fiat Auto’s Turin plant reopened.
Motors Corp.’s chief executive said its researcher, Italian Research and fields like auto components, aircraft The second possibility is that if the
investment in Italian automaker Fiat Study Center, Institute of Euro- and aerospace, agricultural and con- group can’t get out of trouble on its own,
SpA is a long-term alliance. pean Studies, Chinese Academy of struction equipment. it may have to sell some shares to foreign
Fiat, Italy’s largest private-sector Social Sciences Fiat Auto also increased its produc- investors, including some from the US.
employer, saw losses at its Fiat Auto unit What are the factors behind the tion bases around the world, including But the Italians have set a requirement America West Airlines began charging
total $1.3 billion in the first nine months crisis facing Fiat? regions and countries such as Eastern that domestic interests always hold a 51 for in-flight meals on January 6, in trials
of 2002. GM owns 20 percent of Fiat Auto The sliding of the world economy Europe, Brazil, North Africa, Middle percent majority stake and buy back any to be held on a dozen flights a day for three
and can be forced to buy the remaining and Italy’s is the major factor behind. East, and China. shares sold, sooner or later. (Ayi) weeks. AP Photo
CITY
5
JANUARY 10, 2003
E-mail: [email protected] EDITOR: LIU FENG DESIGNER: LI SHI
In the Skin of a Lion
Help is at Hand for
Off Color Flowers
By Sun Ming longing to Appendix I, and they
Two Beijing auction house have export permits for those By Chen Ying fl owers has become an increas-
this week turned down a request specimens of wild animals cov- Amateur horticulturalists ingly popular hobby in Beijing
by a local company to put the ered by Appendix II,” said Zhang now have somewhere they can in recent years, with many
pelt of an African lion up for auc- Yueying, director of the Wild An- consult an expert about the more varieties becoming avail-
tion. The refusal follows a sim- imal Offi ce of the Beijing Forest- best time to plant a gerbera, able from the south. Few peo-
ilar response from a Shanghai ry Bureau. or take their pet nasturtium ple, however, know how best to
auction house. Animals and plants listed in when it looses its luster. cultivate these exotic plants.
All three auction houses re- Appendix I are the most endan- A free weekend fl ower clinic “People used to call the mar-
portedly declined to handle lion gered in the world, and all trade opened Sunday at Zhongshu ket offi ce to get advice on
skin, said to be worth around in them is forbidden under in- Dasenlin Flower Market, on the techniques for growing fl owers.
$20,000, for fear of falling foul of ternational law. Appendix II lists north west Third Ring Road. Many even bring their ailing
China’s wildlife protection laws. species that are not necessarily Flower specialists from Beijing plants to the market seeking
The deputy manager of Beijing now threatened with extinction Agricultural College will be on help,” said Ge Yang, the mar-
Taxidermy and Trophy Compa- but may become so unless trade hand to offer advice on every- ket offi ce spokeswoman.
ny, which imported the pelt from is closely controlled. International thing from how to cure curly Beijing Agricultural College
South Africa last month, said trade in specimens of Appendix II leaf and black spot, to why clem- has set up the clinic in coop-
they had not expected such a species may be authorized by the atis wilt is a bad thing and eration with the market. It is
strong emphasis on animal pro- granting an export permit or re- what can be done to prevent staffed by professors and grad-
tection in China. export certifi cate. it. Growing tropical plants and uate students from the college.
“We have both an export and “Do not feed the animals” signs not required. Beijing Taxidermy and Trophy However, Zhang Li, an associ-
an import permit for the speci- employee Wen Di with the unwanted lion pelt. Photo by Sun Ming ate professor at Beijing Normal
men,” said deputy manager Wu University, says the fact that the
Tao. “We are the only company in to do so,” said Wu who declined to show our specimens in their company has not violated the con-
China permitted to import wild to name the companies that had lobby,” Wu said. vention does not mean that such
animal specimens.” been approached. “Actually, we bought all of the trade is acceptable.
Wu showed the managing An auctioneer from Beijing specimens legally, and most come “I absolutely object to this
license, which was issued by Auction House, which has not yet from animals that died of natu- kind of business,” Zhang told
the Beijing Forestry Bureau last been approached by the company, ral causes. Also, if a ranch with a Beijing Today. He maintains that
month, to Beijing Today Tuesday. said they would also be cautious capacity for 10,000 gemsboks has the selling of specimens of wild
Besides the lion skin, the about accepting such items. “We 15,000 gemsboks, the surplus are animals will defi nitely threaten
company has also imported the would ask for a certifi cate of per- allowed to be culled under South their existence, if not now, then
stuffed heads of zebra, warthogs mission from the Beijing Forest- African law,” he said. in the future.
and four species of antelope, ry Bureau fi rst, if we intended According to the Forestry Bu- “Putting these things on the
worth between 6,000 and 22,000 to accept the auction,” auctioneer reau, the Beijing Taxidermy and market will defi nitely spur de-
yuan, which it hopes to sell as Wang Xu told Beijing Today. Trophy Company have not vio- mand. Some illegal traders, if not
home decorations. The Lufthansa Center, known lated the Convention on Inter- in China, then in other countries,
“The auction houses have nev- for selling high price luxury national Trade in Endangered will take advantage of the situa- Professor Chen Zhihuan demonstrates the right way to add fertilizer.
er handled animal trophies be- goods, also said no to the compa- Species (CITES). tion to hunt more and more wild Photo by Wang Zhenlong
Interior Decoration
fore and consider it inappropriate ny last week. “They even refused “They have no specimens be- animals for profi t.”
Causes a Stink
By Su Wei complained of dizziness. “I al-
Settling into a newly fur- ways felt uncomfortable. I de-
nished apartment would be veloped a sore throat, and my
good news for most people. But memory became so bad that I
for Qin Jing and her family, the could not remember what my
move into their new home cost employees had told me just a
the entire family their good few minutes before,” she said.
health. Qin says doctors at Tiantan
More than one year after Hospital suspected her family
lodging the case against Beijing was suffering from formalde-
Huaqingda Decoration, the Peo- hyde poisoning, from the fur-
ple’s Court of Xuanwu District nishing materials. “We had to
ordered the company pay the move out of the apartment in
family nearly 120,000 yuan in April 2001,” she said. Till now,
compensation. The payout cov- the family still live in rented
ers physical harm, medical ex- apartment which costs them
penses, loss of work time and 1,800 yuan per month.
redecoration expenses caused In June 2001, Qin asked the
by the pollution from products Interior Decoration Association
used in the interior decoration. to test the amount of formal-
In April 2000, Qin signed a dehyde in the apartment. The
contact with Huaqingda to fur- result showed there was 0.71
nish her new apartment. “Two milligrams of formaldehyde per
months later, they fi nished the cubic meter, nine times the per-
job. The quality of the work mitted level.
seemed good, but a strong smell Qin told Beijing Today she
remained and our eyes still stung, was satisfi ed with the court’s
even after we moved in, in No- decision, but says “the suffer-
vember,” says Qin. ing she and her family en-
Qin says her husband caught dured cannot be compensated
a cold and suffered from a con- or calculated in cash.” After the
Migrant Workers Put on a Pedestal
tinual fever, lasting for over one court handed down its decision,
month in early 2001. “He lost a spokesperson for Huaqingda
more than 15 kilograms with- said the company was reserv-
in one month.” Her two daugh- ing its right to appeal, but de-
By Su Wei most commonly work in, such as construc- emy of Fine Arts, are on show till February ters, both aged 14, frequently clined to say on what grounds.
An exhibition at Red Gate Galley gives tion, security, delivery. There are an estimat- 16. Students Get Major Changes
center stage to migrant workers, or at least, ed three million migrant workers currently Where: Red Gate Gallery, Dongbianmen
their likenesses. The eight sculptures repre- living in Beijing. The works by Liang Shuo, Watchtower
sent migrant workers in the occupations they a 23-year-old graduate of the Central Acad- Photo by Li Shuzhuan By Lily Li to leave school. In 1999, he re-
What would you do if you turned to his home in Hunan
had to spend four years study- Province where he re-sat the
For Now, the Bell Tolls
ing a major in which you had college entrance exam in July
no interest? 2000, and was admitted to Ts-
Unlike students in western inghua’s school of chemistry.
By Sun Ming risk. Also, as a tradition, the 108 universities who can usually “Although I am two years
The nearly 600-year-old Yon- peals from the bell to mark the switch majors, many Chinese older than my fellow students,
gle Bell at the Great Bell Temple New Year can spread luck and students must quit university I don’t think it matters because
has fallen silent again, after toll- happiness for following year. A fi rst and take another Nation- I’m working hard to realize my
ing 108 times on New Year’s eve. loudhailer is usually held to the al College Entrance Examina- dreams. I have no regrets about
As a measure to protect the Yongle Bell when it is beaten, “So tion. this decision,” Li told Beijing
bell, which was cast during the people don’t need to beat it too Liu Xiao (a pseudonym), Today.
Ming dynasty and named after a hard,” he said. once a top Tsinghua undergrad- Statistic from re-examina-
Ming Emperor Yongle, it is only However Li Tiehu, the re- uate, left this prestigious uni- tion classes in Beijing middle
rung once a year. Another equal- searcher of the Capital Museum versity last summer to prepare schools show the number of
ly ancient bell in the Temple of says, “It’s diffi cult to say the Tai- to sit again for the entrance ex- students re-sitting exams this
Heaven Park, however, is still he Bell will be harmed by being amination this June. year has reached 5,000, six per-
rung by tourists every day. rung, it was built just for beating. “I wanted to study in the cent of whom have previously
Like the Yongle Bell, the Tai- Like a piano or bicycle, the bell computer department when I been accepted by universities,
he Bell was also made during should also be used sometimes. choose Tsinghua University, but like Liu Xiao and Li Yitang.
the reign of Ming Emperor Yon- But maybe not so often.” was moved to the chemistry However, Deng Liman, dep-
gle, and is made of copper. Visi- Staff at the Temple of Heaven “Donkey Zone” department because my marks uty director general of Ts-
tors to the Temple of Heaven are Park maintain that the Taihe weren’t good enough. I had no inghua University’s
charged one yuan for the privi- Bell, which has been beaten for interests in my major at all, educational administration de-
lege of striking the bell, which is hundreds of years, is still in good and I’d rather start all over partment, says students need
believed to bring good luck. condition. Around 30 tourists who On New Year’s Day, a donkey cart laden with watermelons again than study what I don’t not leave university just be-
“The bell will be damaged want to pray for good luck ring occupied a parking space near Guangming Bridge, on the Sec- want,” says Liu. cause they want to change ma-
sooner or later,” Gao Kaijun, an the bell every day. ond Ring Road. Li Yitang is another student jors, as Tsinghua started to
expert from the Ancient Bell Mu- “We often tell tourists not to The watermelon vendor, a young man who declined to give who is re-sitting the exam. Li allow the practice last year.
seum of the Great Bell Temple, beat the bell too hard,” Wu Cai- his name, told Beijing Today, “I did not simply stop in any old spent two years in Tsinghua’s Provided they pass the relevant
told Beijing Today. jun, head of the Temple of Heav- place. This is a parking lane, and I am not disrupting traffi c!” architecture department, after examinations and get approval
According to Gao, ringing the en Park Antique Offi ce, told Photo by Bai Jikai which he realized he had no from the department, they can
Yongle Bell once a year poses no Beijing Today. love for the subject and decided enroll in a different major.
VOICE
6
JANUARY 10, 2003
E-mail: [email protected] EDITOR: LIU FENG DESIGNER:PANG LEI
Getting Hitched
By Chen Ying
Public Comments
Though the Ministry of Civil Af-
fairs is still awaiting the State Yang Gengshen, commentator,
Council’s modifi cations of its new China Youth Daily
version of the national Marriage Regis- The question now is will people
tration Management Ordinance, some decide to still get prenuptial check-
regional governments have begun to to Get Easier ups if the government abolishes
leak information about probable chang- their legal necessity. I’ve heard that
es in the document. already nearly 50 percent of new
A spokesman for the Shanghai Mu- couples don’t receive the checkups
nicipal Government told the Shanghai every year.
Morning Post on January 1 that fol- There are three main reasons
lowing the launch of the new regula- to get prenuptial checkups — for
tion, new couples will be able to decide the health of couples and their off-
whether or not to go through prenup- spring; to improve national popu-
tial physical checkups. In the past, lation quality; and as a platform
thorough medical exams were a re- for doctors to tell couples how
quired part of the process of register- Government expected to give couples choice to improve their chances of hav-
ing for marriage. ing children and how to use con-
This anticipated change has re- regarding prenuptial medical checks traception and avoid pregnancy.
ceived nationwide media attention and With this in mind, we should
is seen as an unprecedented move by carefully consider the actual use
the government in withdrawing direct of these checkups before going
control in favor of the promotion of in- ahead and abandoning them or
dividual rights. istering for marriage? making them optional.
One Offi cial’s View Nationwide Response
Prenuptial physical checks fi rst Ren: Though I don’t know any- Wang Lei, accountant, just
started in China in 1995 with the in- About 80,000 new couples in the thing about the changes made to the A report run in the Wuhan Morning Post on married
tention of promoting health among the capital receive prenuptial checkup ev- latest Marriage Registration Man- January 2 depicted a local offi cial and expert I think that prenuptial check-
country’s entire population. Some re- ery year, according to the Beijing Mu- agement Ordinance, I think it should worried about the effects of the negation of ups should be necessary consider-
gional governments had taken similar nicipal Health Bureau. Prospective not contradict other national laws. the prenuptial checks. Both a spokesman of ing current conditions in China.
steps earlier — for example, the Beijing couples can undergo the checks in 28 The twelfth item of the Women and the local Health Bureau and Tu Yiqiao, the Some foreigners might fi nd that
Municipal Government has required hospitals endorsed by the bureau. Infants’ Healthcare Law, which was president of the Wuhan Municipal Women and strange, but there are many dif-
pre–marriage physicals since 1985. The latest version of the Beijing issued in 1995, states that partners Children’s Hospital, expressed views that most ferences between China and the
These examinations normally con- Prenuptial Healthcare Criterion re- should bring along proof they have people were unaware just how important these West. People pay more attention to
sist of three parts: a medical history in- leased by the Municipal Health Bu- undergone prenuptial checkups when exams are. their health as part of daily life in
quiry and basic physical check, detailed reau on January 1 includes some they register at marriage offi ces. So They are worried that the number of couples Western countries. Also, they receive
checks like X–rays or blood tests and important new changes, such as I think that the contents of prenup- who undergo prenuptial checkups will fall dra- more comprehensive sex education.
other special inspections thought nec- new couples being allowed to choose tial checks should be made optional matically if the government no longer makes Things are changing now in Chi-
essary, such as HIV testing. The prices which tests can be run as detailed instead of simply abandoning the such checks mandatory. The report cited fi gures na, but some changes need time to
of the whole process are closely regulat- exams or special checks as part of checks altogether. that eight percent of the 22,000 people that un- really take root in people’s minds.
ed, so that couples do not have to spend the prenuptial physical process. Beijing Today: What has public derwent checks in Wuhan last year were discov- Xiao Hui, Internet surfer
more than 200 yuan to complete their Parties must also sign the docu- reaction been to prenuptial check- ered to have problems with their reproductive Having the right not to under-
prenuptial checkups in Beijing. ments for each part of their checkups ups? systems. Two percent of the checked couples de- go a prenuptial checkup does not
According to the Ministry of Health, to show they understand the func- Ren: Our bureau surveyed 4,900 cided to delay their marriages after receiving mean people will necessarily do so.
of the nearly 8.8 million people that tion of each exam. At the end of ev- citizens on this subject last August. the results of their physicals. It’s just like my having the right
received prenuptial checkups in 2001, ery form listing the results of checks Of those interviewed, 4,775 said that Another report run in Nanfang Daily to smoke — I decide whether I will
140,000 were found to have health con- there are spaces for each marriage prenuptial checkups are necessary. the same day said a survey conducted in smoke or not. What I need is to
ditions that could affect their marriag- partner to sign, showing they have Beijing Today: But why are Guangzhou shows that equal numbers of peo- have and understand my rights —
es. Among them, more than 20,000 had read and understand their results there still many people who dislike ple support and oppose mandatory prenuptial how I use them is another issue.
venereal diseases, including 84 cases and those of their partners. Accord- the checkup? checks. That report also said the Guangzhou Ge Yujie (Chinese name),
of HIV/AIDS, 15,000 had mental disor- ing to the bureau, these measures Ren: Prenuptial checkups are re- government has stated that it will continue to German
ders or diseases and 6,500 were found provide for the protection of couples’ ally useful as a way to avoid birth uphold the old regulation until the new one is I would not want to have to
to have genetic diseases. privacy while still allowing doctors defects as well as to promote hap- released. get a physical check before getting
The abolition of required checkups is to fulfi ll their duties of informing the piness and stability among families. The government of Changsha, Hunan Prov- married. I’ve never heard of such
considered by many as representative couples about their health status. The reason that people have com- ince, is taking a similar stance according to a thing in Europe. It’s unneces-
of consideration of new couples and re- Beijing Today interviewed Ren plained about the exams is that they a Xiaoxiang Morning Post report published sary. It’s a strange way of check-
spect of their rights to privacy. Howev- Zhengmei, a spokeswoman for the are not done consistently. In some January 2. A spokesman from the Changsha ing whether a partner is worthy
er, how to balance human rights with Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, areas, especially in the countryside, Bureau of Civil Affairs said there is a trend of marrying or not. If I wanted to
the need to monitor the health of the about prenuptial checkups and only around 40 percent of couples or towards making prenuptial checkups optional, marry someone, the only thing I
national population remains a thorny changes to related policy. less get such checks. Also, because of and added the only way to make the upcom- would be concerned about would
issue. The latest Marriage Registration Beijing Today: What do you the actions of some irresponsible doc- ing Marriage Registration Management Ordi- be the love between us. I can un-
Management Ordinance is hoped to think about the news that the Min- tors, many people have wrongly con- nance more consistent with the core principle derstand why there might be this
help resolve some of the confl icts sur- istry of Health will no longer make cluded the checks are a total waste of of the Marriage Law is to emphasize people’s kind of regulation, but I wouldn’t
rounding this issue. prenuptial checkups required in reg- time and money. freedom of choice. want to get such a check myself.
By Lily Li Dishing Out for the Dirt
History was in the air for more than one rea- Background
son when a huge tomb, believed to hold
CCTV paid 3 million yuan for the exclu-
the remains of a Han Dynasty emperor,
sive rights to cover the opening of the main
was pried open by archeologists in Siyang County,
chamber to the Beijing Laoshan Han tomb
Jiangsu Province, on January 6. Nanjing Museum hawks exclusive rights to media coverage of ancient tomb dig in the summer of 2000, although newspaper
The dig has drawn extensive attention not only be-
reporters were allowed to freely investigate
cause of its academic value, but also because of the un-
for doing so falls on the media. Press reports offer im- the scene.
conventional steps taken by the Nanjing Museum, the
portant information to the public, so reporters’ rights The Zhejiang Movie and Cultural Channel
organization responsible for the excavation, in control-
to cover stories can be seen as an extension of the pub- paid 80,000 yuan for the sole rights to broad-
ling media coverage of the event. In a bold move, the
lic’s basic rights to be informed. cast the opening of the Leifeng Tower under-
museum decided to hold an auction to sell exclusive
So, how can the Nanjing Museum deign to limit ground palace in Hangzhou in March 2001.
reporting rights to the story.
how this story is covered? Another way to say it is However, due to fi erce opposition from other
“We’re trying a ‘reporting by fee’ policy and asking
why should I pay for something that by law already media organizations, half an hour after the
media organizations to pay to cover this news, so the
belongs to me? broadcast began, other reporters were allowed
press should adjust its regular mindset that covering
Shi Xingdong, employee at Beijing Telecom to enter the site in small groups.
such a valuable discovery should come free of charge,”
Research Institute The Fox TV network paid $65,000 for the
said Xu Huping, curator of the Nanjing Museum.
I think the Nanjing Museum’s deeds don’t violate exclusive rights to broadcast the robotic explo-
Jiangsu Television emerged late last December
the law or media standards for reporting. Many ar- ration of an Egyptian pyramid in September
with exclusive coverage rights for a price of 100,000
cheological fi nds go unreported. Since the museum is 2002. Phoenix TV, owned by Hong Kong Sat-
yuan, while the Nanjing Morning Post paid 10,000
in charge of this excavation, it can decide who gets ellite Television, another company in which
yuan on January 2 to be the sole newspaper allowed
coverage rights. Rupert Murdoch owns shares, won the sole
to report on the dig.
What’s more, the Nanjing Museum hasn’t kept the Asian broadcasting rights to the event.
The sales have proven controversial, in part be-
money from the sale of the rights for itself, but will
cause the Nanjing Museum never actually held a
spend it on further exploration and research. If news-
formal auction — the two deals were done through pri- SOUND BITES
papers and TV stations benefi t from covering inter-
vate negotiations. Museum authorities have admitted
esting stories like this because of advertising income,
that the sales were not conducted through an open, why shouldn’t the museum also benefi t? “It’s hard to say whether the facilitation
competitive process. I appreciate the museum’s decision. The press nowa- of divorce is good or bad, but one thing is cer-
Xu said the proceeds from the rights sales would days enjoys a lot of privileges — it’s not a bad thing to tain: we are becoming less conventional and
go only toward the protection or excavation of relics or remind them there is no free lunch in this world. have more diversifi ed ways of thinking.”
other similar activities. Huang Yonghao, reporter for CCTV — Zhou Keda, professor at the Guangxi
After the deals were closed, the museum also invit- Even though the Nanjing Museum said they will Autonomous Regional Academy of Social
ed China’s national Xinhua News Agency to report the spend the money they made on protecting more cultural Sciences, who attributes the increasing
story. “Papers and other media groups that did not win relics, I still don’t think what they did was right. ease and speed of the divorce process to
rights can still report the story through Xinhua news Reporters pressed together to document workers break- Why excavate the tomb? Why protect cultural relics China’s rapid economic growth and improv-
ing through into the tomb that has been sealed for over
releases,” said museum director Mr. Li, who would only 2,000 years. Photo provided by Modern Express at all? I think the basic reason is that people need and ing standards of living
give his surname. want to know about their history. If you limit media
However, the museum’s rigor in enforcing its cover- and the only way to really get the story is to pay for it — coverage of this kind of story by selling exclusive rights, “I am worried that we are giving away
age limits has been called into question, as unauthorized that’s something the press will fi nd hard to swallow. fewer people will end up knowing what has happened so much in tax cuts that we will never get
reporters have been turning up around the tomb, lead- At the same time, if we didn’t pay, other news- and that is irresponsible. back to a budget balance.”
— David Wyss, chief economist at Stan-
ing to the publishing of stories in other newspapers. papers would have covered this story, and we’d lose Also, media organizations that can’t fork out enough
dard & Poor’s in New York, worrying that
The press has largely come out against the muse- out in competition. So, despite our stance against this will lose the chance to report a major story like this,
Bush’s $674 billion plan to boost the US
um’s move, not only because of the secretive negotia- kind of deal, we ended up making an agreement with leaving them to choose from less costly stories that are
economy might provide short-term gains
tions, but also on the basic grounds that they have the the Nanjing Museum. correspondingly less valuable.
this year but end up as a long-term drag
rights to cover the story as they like. As far as I see it, the rights to reporting an archeo- So, in order to foster a healthy press, we should ex-
over the next decade
Did the Nanjing Museum have the right to sell this logical fi nd and those for broadcasting a sports event tend equal rights to all media organizations.

story? Was it proper for them to limit media coverage are totally different. There are huge price tags attached Yu Guoming, professor in the School of Journalism “I was only thinking about Claudia
of this event? Should covering archeological events or to the sports industry, supported by many organiza- and Communication of Renmin University of China Schiffer. I needed many rings so that she
other similar activities naturally come with a price tag tions and a strong legal system. But, there is no legal Nowadays many media organizations pay fees for could pick one out. Besides, I wasn’t sure
like sports events? Opinions follow: basis for the sale of rights to report this kind of story. conducting interviews. If a reporter pays to get a lead or about her ring size.”
Qin Jidong, chief editor of Nanjing Morning Post Wang Jiagang, writer for China Youth Daily information, it clearly is just a way to get a scoop, and — Julio S., an unemployed Mozambican
We have indeed bought the reporting rights, but in According to the national constitution, the people there is nothing wrong with that in the news market. man obsessed with Claudia Schiffer, who
general we oppose such behavior. are the masters of this country. For that reason, they At the same time, if somebody demands money for an stole 124 wedding rings to give to the German
Gathering news is not only the job of reporters, but need to learn about what’s going on — in other words, interview or information, of course a reporter or media supermodel. He was sentenced to time in a
also their duty. Providing readers with information af- people have the right to be informed. organization can refuse. psychiatric clinic by a Berlin court Tuesday
ter digging into a story is what the public’s rights to be However, ordinary people do not have the means to If everything in a society can be bought, the seeds of By Chen Ying
informed is all about. But now things have changed, dig up information on their own, so the responsibility corruption will grow.
PROBE
7
JANUARY 10, 2003
E-mail: [email protected] EDITOR: LIU FENG DESIGNER: PANG LEI
By Su Wei
A
fter working at a dating agency for over 10 years, Yuan
Li, joined a well-known Internet company specializing
in matchmaking two years ago. “The profi t of the
website through cyber dating has tripled in that
period, but the rate of increase is slowing,” says Yuan.
“Virtually all the major web portals provide cyber dating services.”
She says the information people provide about themselves for
posting on cyber dating sites is a kind of art form. “The language
is more refi ned, the photos are more personalized, and they are
updated every week.”
Beijing Today interviewed seven people aged between 20 and 30
about their experiences and views of “cyber love.” The consensus
among them was that those who engage in “cyber love affairs” are
“the most fashionable human beings.”
Noting that nearly 4,500 cyber couples tied “cyber knots” on
their website on Valentine’s Day last year, Yuan says she expects
the percentage of registered clients to “cyber marry” will double
this year.
A survey by www.sina.com.cn suggests among the current over
40 million regular net users, at least three million meet their lovers
online almost everyday.
Better than the real thing
In a survey conducted by www.21cn.com last year,
a majority responded that the key attraction of
“cyber love” was that such relationships were
unobtainable “in reality.”
For Wu Wei, a 28-year-old
employee in a customer service
department of a computer
company in
Zhongguancun, love
in cyber space
is “more pure”
than its real
world
counterpart. “In
reality, love is
either infl uenced by
utilitarianism, or
confi ned to the
traditional idea of
securing love with “At the age full of curiosity, they are more eager to pursue
marriage. Cyber love has romance, less able to differentiate between fact and fi ction,” he
nothing to do with says. “They are also more easily disappointed or to feel cheated
practical issues such as fi nd the right person or you do not like the way someone sounds, when those they meet on the Internet turn out to be different to
housing and income. It is you can just keep clicking “delete” and never worry about whether their expectations.”
really a haven for the people they are hurt or not. Everything looks so easy in the Internet world.” Ji Zhong (pseudonym), 21, was diagnosed with depression at
involved, through which the real meaning of love is regained,” he Shen Zhe, 30, a bank clerk who has been cyber dating for two Beijing No. 6 Hospital at the end of last year. In June 2001, he met
maintains. years, says like most other women who do so, she has a sense of a 17-year-old in an Internet chat room and fell in love with her. One
Xue Ya, who is getting to know her boy friend in real life after a being released from inhibition. “Since few people would use their month later the two “married” and established their family – a web
six-month cyber romance, says, “The attraction of cyber love is like real names on the Internet, timid people like myself are less afraid of page. “It is really too like a family,” said his mother, who declined to
the Chinese idiom ‘beauty comes from far away.’ Can you imagine opening their hearts to others.” give her name. “There are pictures of furniture, menus for their daily
how exciting and impressive it is sitting in front of a computer and Shen says the way she communicates when cyber dating is more meals and descriptions of their life as a husband and wife.”
experiencing the love with warm expressions from another person direct and daring. “I become more confi dent and my colleagues Three months later, after the website informed Ji that his “wife”
living in a different city or even a different country? It is completely consider that I am more attractive and charming in real life.” was pregnant, he spent every day reading books about childbirth.
different from sitting side by side in a park.” She contends that like with traditional dating, cyber lovers tend But six weeks later he was informed that his “wife” died while
Another interviewee, who only gave his Internet name “Laby,” to bend the truth about their weight or height, it is just that there is giving birth to the child. After that, he did nothing every day except
says cyber love is like shopping in a supermarket. “If you cannot more scope to do so. “For me, it does not matter too much. When sit in front of the computer and mourn for his ‘wife’ at the website
cemetery.
we really meet in person we would forgive each other for we may
As Yao Guizhong, the doctor treating Ji says, “Everyone except
have established the mutual trust through the Internet,” says Shen.
Quick guide to cyber love him knows the marriage was not real. It was merely a game, like
Lu Qian of the Association of China’s Psychology sees cyber
raising an electronic pet.”
love as a result of increased social pressures and the complicated
Tang Minhua, married to her husband Li Yaxiong for over two years,
social relationship.
is considering divorce. “I cannot tolerate that he ‘married’ many other
She says especially for the young people, cyber love is the
women and even ‘had children’ on the Internet. These women all call
same as “university love.” “As a psychologist, I am happy that the
Online matchmaking and dating is old news. Websites such as him ‘husband’ and he calls them ‘wife.’ What about me? I am his legal
human nature to seek pure love has not disappeared in a society
www.waei.com.cn and www.the9.com not only provide you with a wife. As a legal couple, we do not have children, but he spent several
increasingly dominated by science and techniques.”
perfect cyber match, they will “register” your cyber marriage, notify hours every night raising those non-existent children!”
you of the arrival of cyber babies (that’s right, babies, there is no Her husband’s explanation that the reason he engages in these
“one cyberchild policy”), and build your perfect cyber home. Not so beautiful “cyber affairs” is to prevent a “real” extra-marital affair from
Cyber lover: A lover who is only met online. Just like a real one, The case of “Kitty” is still widely talked about online. Kitty is occurring, makes her even angrier.
without the physical contact. the Internet name of a 23-year-old girl from Fuzhou who committed Chen Xinxin, a researcher at the Women’s Study Institute of
Cyber marriage: If you are sure your cyber lover is the one for suicide three years ago, unable to reconcile the differences between the All China’s Women Association, points out that the two parties
you, this is the next step. It has no legal standing, and cyber divorce her initial impressions of her cyber boyfriend, his real self – after involved in cyber love lack a sense of security. “They get to know
is as simple as hitting delete. they actually met, and her desires. each other neither through the introduction of their colleagues and
Cyber family: You’ve heard of a home page? This is your home Four months later, another case attracted public attention. A friends or seeing each other with their own eyes. The relationship
page. All you need is to furnish it with some clip art. 16-year-old in Leshan, Sichuan, was raped by a man she had stems entirely from a series of computer signals.”
Cyber baby: You may need to make some additions to your been “cyber dating” after accepting his invitation to meet him in She highlights that the virtue of honesty is more easily discarded
home page to accommodate this little bundle of cyber joy. Chang- Chengdu. in the unreal world of the Internet. “Some may never tell the truth
ing nappies has never been so easy. Zong Chunshan, director of Law and Psychology Consulting and some only occasionally tell the truth. No one feels shameful
Center for Youth, says young people are at greater risk of about that. There is no awareness of morality and no one bothers to
psychological and physical harm resulting from cyber romance. bring any moral restraints to themselves.” Photo / Tony Stone
FOCUS
8
JANUARY 10, 2003
E-mail: [email protected] EDITOR: LIU FENG DESIGNER:PANG LEI
Chinese Workers at Risk
in Israel
Chinese worker injured in suicide bombing in Israel faces uncertainty over compensation
By Ivy Zhang we wanted,” Shen said. “She said the embassy was having
Lin Jinmou, a 41-year-old Chinese worker who lost a meeting and later asked us whether we had other doc-
his left arm and left leg in the April 12 suicide uments issued by the insurance institute, as they didn’t
bombing blast in Jerusalem last year, may have know what to do with the documents we had given them.”
been relieved to have returned to his hometown in Fujian Shen said he later called the translator at the insur-
Province Tuesday. ance institute and asked the institute to call the embassy.
But he now faces hefty medical bills and living prob- The translator told him to prepare a paper detailing
lems and does not know what compensation he will re- their requests such as easy access to clinics, convenient
ceive to pay for all of it. housing for disabled and regular replacement of hearing
Israel’s National Insurance Institute is responsible to aid and prosthetic devices. Then the embassy would
pay him compensation, according to Amir Sagie, press of- transfer the requests to the insurance institute.
fi cer of the Israeli Embassy in China. “I was told such a process would take a long time,” said
But so far, no compensation package has been agreed Shen. “This is what we are worried about. Lin has to re-
and Lin faces an agonizing wait before fi nding out wheth- ceive further treatment now.”
er he will be able to pay for his treatment.
It’s an issue that needs resolving, particularly in the Comforting words
light of last Sunday’s bomb blast, in which two Palestin- Amir Sagie, press offi cer of the Israeli Embassy in Chi-
ian suicide bombers killed 22 people and wounded more na said Lin should rest assured that the embassy would
than 100 in a crowded part of Tel Aviv. serve as a link for communication with the insurance in-
Two Chinese workers were killed in the blast and sev- stitute.
en were injured. At present, Israel is estimated to host “At the embassy here in Beijing, we have handled the
20,000 Chinese workers, half legal, half illegal. cases of Chinese workers who have been killed and in-
jured by terrorists in Israel,” he said. “Nobody is being
Who’ll be the family breadwinner now? neglected. Nobody has been denied compensation.”
Lin went to Israel in order to pay for his home and “The insurance institute is dealing with thousands
children’s school fees. Before going to Israel in December and thousands of cases. We have been victims of terror-
2001, he did odd jobs as a remodeling worker in and ism not only the last few years. We’ve been suffering for
around his village in Daitou town, Putian city, Fujian 50 years now,” he said.
Province. Since April 2002, six Chinese workers have been killed
He has three children, the eldest aged 20 and youngest in suicide attacks in Israel and more than ten have been
12. His wife Shen Jinying, 40, used to work as a substi- injured.
tute primary school teacher in the village. Now she has to
spend all her time looking after Lin. Lin Jinmou and his wife Shen Jinying arrived at Beijing airport
In his village which has about three thousand people, last Friday. Photo by Cheng Tieliang
40 to 50 have been to Israel in the last two or three years.
Lin was told it was easy to earn a good salary in Israel.
“We tried to persuade him not to go there because the
Getting Along With the Government
situation is unstable and sometimes dangerous,” Shen
Guofeng, Lin’s brother-in-law said. “But he was deter-
mined to go. He had no fi xed income and borrowed 30,000
to 40,000 yuan to build his house. If he stayed here, he
would never be able to repay the debts.”
After weighing the pros and cons, Lin started his jour- By Sun Ming District branch of the Shenyang in May 2001. The reason given feng Store over the past two
ney with a dozen other workers through China Zhongfu An owner of a chain supermar- Business Bureau, came to my su- was that the supermarket was years. We pay a lot of attention
Overseas Labor Services. ket in Shenyang has brought fi ve permarket. Some of them wore too small to sell these kinds of to fake cigarettes.
Before setting out, his debt deepened as he had to bor- lawsuits against local government uniforms, some didn’t. They said products. Yang: Jiang told me that your
row 80,000 to 90,000 yuan to cover the agency fees. How- agencies over the past two years I had promoted my supermarket “About 15 people came to my inspectors didn’t label his ciga-
ever, he expected to make that amount of money working following what he thought were illegally because I used the word store in Tiexi District at 9 o’clock rettes as having come from Jinfeng
as a remodeling worker at a local construction company unreasonable inspections during ‘the cheapest’ in the ad fl iers. They in the evening. We were very on the scene. How do you know the
in Israel in a year. which valuable merchandise was confi scated all of our ad fl iers. happy because we thought they cigarettes that the check center ex-
His dream was smashed four months later. confi scated. According to advertisement law, were customers. But when one amined are Jinfeng cigarettes?
About 4 pm on April 12 last year, a suicide bomber In December last year, a words like ‘the best’ and ‘the cheap- man saw a Panasonic microwave Gao: I don’t think we should
triggered an attack, leaving two Chinese dead and two CCTV reporter went to est’ are prohibited in ads. I found and a Haier air conditioner, he label the products on the scene.
injured, at west Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market. Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning this out later. said ‘How can you sell the mi- Yang: According to Adminis-
“The four of us were waiting at a bus stop after buy- Province, to investigate the case. “I thought the matter was over. crowave and air conditioner in trative Law, you should reveal
ing vegetables at the market,” Lin said. “A few moments CCTV1 broadcast the investiga- But fi ve months later, I was in- your small store?’ I knew they the examination results to Jiang
later, a bus arrived. Cai Xianyang and Lin Chunmei (who tion last Friday. formed by the depart- just wanted to fi nd within seven days of confi scat-
were killed in the blast) went on the bus in front of me. ment that I should pay an excuse to confi scate ing the cigarettes. But as far as I
When I stepped on the bus, I heard a loud bang. Then I Jinfeng Store, which has four a fi ne of between 10,000 “I thought that something. know, you never did. Why?
knew nothing.” branches in Shenyang, re- and 20,000 yuan. I was only people who “This time I de- Gao: I admit that we made
Eighteen days later, Lin woke up at the Shearei Ze- ceived inspections from over shocked. I still owed plan to conduct cided I wouldn’t just some mistakes in that respect.
dek Hospital. Seeing his family visiting him, he initially 10 departments of the local gov- a lot of debts because put up with it. I fi led But some legal regulations are
illegal business
thought he was at home in Fujian. He even asked them ernment on 39 different occa- I borrowed heavily to a lawsuit against the too outdated to suit today’s soci-
offer bribes. ”
if they had securely locked up their motorbikes. Then he sions since it opened in 2000. open Jinfeng. After bar- bureau with Tiexi ety. I still believe that the Jin-
fell back into sleep. He regained consciousness two days The owner, Jiang Caiyi, a re- gaining, I paid 3,000 — Jiang Caiyi, District Court. The feng cigarettes are fakes.
later. tired military offi cer, told CCTV yuan. But according to Jinfeng Store bureau returned my Yang: How can your inspectors
“They told me I was in Israel,” Lin said. “I reached out that the inspectors confi scated Advertisement Law, I owner in products soon after judge whether a retailer’s cigarettes
to touch my left arm and leg and felt nothing. In the be- his goods each time, offering du- should only have been Shenyang that and asked me are fake or not on the scene?
ginning, I couldn’t believe it. Then I felt desperate. I was bious reasons for doing so. reprimanded, not to withdraw the law- Gao: They can tell just
disabled and my family would have no income.” “I was forced to become a law- fi ned.” suit.” through looking at them. But
In addition to his arm and leg amputation, Lin suf- yer,” said Jiang who passed the To confi rm the basis of the □ In September 2001, a few there is no legal basis for this.
fered burn scars and hearing loss. He said he was im- National Lawyer Qualifi cation 3,000 yuan fi ne, CCTV asked days before the Mid-autumn Fes- So we usually ask for help from
pressed with Israel’s medical care and was satisfi ed with Examination in March last year. to interview the Heping District tival, the Shenyang Health Bu- the Liaoning Province Tobacco
his treatment in Israel after the blast. Now Jiang is planning to open a branch last month. The request reau asked Jiang to pay 3,000 Check Center.
But Lin’s biggest concern now is whether he can get legal fi rm, also called Jinfeng. was turned down. yuan as a fee for checking the Yang: So it’s hard to tell
compensation to live on for the rest of his life. “I’ve put nearly 80 percent □ One month after the fi rst in- quality of his moon cakes. whether cigarettes are fake or not
of my energy into dealing with spection, Jinfeng had a visit from “They took away ten cakes. on the scene?
Who can help me? these unreasonable and endless the Shenyang Tobacco Bureau in But before they left, they asked Gao: Yes.
Lin returned to China with his wife last Friday. His inspections.” Jiang complained June 2000. me to pay 300 yuan as the fee Why did Jiang think his
fl ight to Fujian was booked for Tuesday noon, which to CCTV that he had no more “Three inspectors from the for examination for each cake. stores had been inspected
meant he only had one day to deal with the Israeli Em- energy to develop his business. Shenyang Tobacco Bureau insisted According to China’s Quality so often?
bassy on compensation during his stopover. In May 2001, Jiang brought that my cigarettes were fakes and Law, the government has the Jiang: I think because I didn’t
Lin cannot speak mandarin well so Shen Guofeng, his fi rst lawsuit against the Tiexi asked our saleswoman to hand right to examine the quality ‘say hello to them’ before I opened
Lin’s brother-in-law, played a key role when they ap- District branch of the Shenyang three packs over. She refused, so of stores’ products, but it can’t Jinfeng. I didn’t bribe them, to
proached the embassy on Monday. Business Bureau, which had con- one of the men jumped inside charge stores for the quality be frank.
Shen produced two documents the insurance institute fi scated two electrical applianc- the counter and took away three examination.” Yang: Did your friends advise
had told him to present to the embassy. One was a three- es from his store in April 2001. packs of China cigarettes worth a On December 22, Li Wei, the you to offer bribes?
page medical summary issued by the hospital which Tiexi District branch promptly total of 130 yuan. The man left a deputy director of the Shenyang Jiang: Yes. They said it was
detailed Lin’s injuries, medical treatment and recommen- returned his goods and Jiang note which said ‘Temporary con- Health Bureau, told CCTV that necessary to get along with the
dations. The other was a one-page paper in Hebrew is- withdrew the lawsuit. fi scation of three packages of ciga- they would return the money to authorities. They advised me to
sued by the insurance institute. In 2002, Jiang fi led four rettes.’ But up to now, I still haven’t Jinfeng soon. Li admitted that bribe some ‘important people’,
“Before coming back to China, the insurance institute lawsuits against the Shenyang got them back or been told wheth- his staff members had made a but I refused.
told us to approach the consul directly at the embassy. Tobacco Bureau and three of er they were fake.” mistake. Yang: Why?
When we presented the two documents to him, the consul its branches, which had confi s- □ Three inspectors from the Should Jinfeng’s cigarettes Jiang: I thought that only
would have the responsibility to talk with us on the com- cated cigarettes worth a total of Tiexi District branch of Shenyang be confi scated? people who plan to conduct ille-
pensation issue,” Shen said. “But the consul did not come 150,000 yuan since May 2000. Business Bureau confi scated 15 The Shenyang Tobacco Bu- gal business offer bribes.
out to meet us.” Jiang won two of the lawsuits bottles of Fen alcohol worth a to- reau inspected Jinfeng Store Yang: Have you ever invited
Shen said the insurance institute was committed to and lost the other two. “Up to tal of 600 yuan in Jinfeng in Jan- most frequently. They inspected inspectors for a meal?
give them a letter within three months of Lin’s return to now, I still haven’t got any of my uary 2001. Jinfeng 14 times from August Jiang: Never.
China, detailing the compensation he would receive. cigarettes back. The law states “They said that my Fen alcohol 2000 and confi scated cigarettes Yang: Are all the departments
“The insurance institute told us the embassy would they should return my cigarettes was fake. After they confi scated worth 15,000 yuan altogether. that have inspected Jinfeng un-
know what to do when we presented the two documents,” within ten days of the judgment,” my alcohol, I asked the supplier “Up to now, they haven’t re- reasonable?
said Shen. “Instead the embassy told us they had no idea Jiang told CCTV. to fax me the qualifi ed certifi cate turned a single cigarette or told Jiang: No. The Shenyang Tax
what to do with the documents we gave them. We are Jiang told CCTV of the for the alcohol. With the help of a me the quality examination re- Bureau and local police stations
very disappointed.” inspections he experi- friend who has an acquaintance in sults,” Jiang told CCTV. have never charged us at random.
The embassy said the insurance institute had not giv- enced from 2000: the bureau, I got my alcohol back Gao Jinzhe, deputy director of They usually came to Jinfeng once
en them any direct instructions and that the only role the □ Jinfeng store encountered one month later.” the Shenyang Tobacco Bureau, or twice a year. It’s reasonable. I
embassy could perform is to help with communication be- its fi rst inspection the fi rst day it □ Inspectors from the Tiexi was interviewed by CCTV report- didn’t want to fi le lawsuits against
tween victims and the insurance institute. opened on May 28, 2000. District branch of the Shenyang er Yang Chun on November 22. anyone. But I can’t tolerate this
“We waited in the embassy from 9 am till 4 pm. During “Eight inspectors, who claimed Business Bureau confi scated two Gao: The cigarettes in my of- situation any more.
this period, only a Chinese woman came out to ask what to be the members of the Heping electrical appliances in Jinfeng fi ce were confi scated from Jin- (Source: CCTV)
FACE
9
JANUARY 10, 2003
E-mail: [email protected] EDITOR: ZHANG XIAOXIA DESIGNER: LI SHI
Several papers
were interested in
Huang Shan’s story
and interviewed
him. But very few
published his story.
“They wanted to
write a sad and
sentimental story
about a vagrant
singer, and were
mostly disappointed
when they found I
was happy and
contented with my
life,” he laughs.
By Zhao Pu The fi rst time he was invited There was something which could the fi rst bar in Huangshan. His
Two teenagers approached to perform at a party organized make my mother proud of me.” medicine was successful, but the
Huang Shan as they heard by Poloarts, the company gave him Singing brought him confi dence bar, sadly, was not.
him singing one of his songs a thorough image makeover. “They in his early life. He learned to play Idealist
Nowhere to Run in the subway. They brought me to a beauty salon the guitar in high school, and began Two years later in 2000, he
didn’t look at him. Instead one of and took care of my skin and to write songs in that period. When came back to Beijing with no funds
them picked up a CD of Huang hairstyle, and bought me new he was about to enter college his for his CD. “This time, before I
Shan’s music, put it in his CD player clothes,” he says. father brought him to an art college came back to the city, I suddenly
and started listening to it. When he got on stage with and encouraged him to choose mu- realized music was not my ideal. A
“30 yuan each,” Huang said to this new polished image it all sic as his major. He refused. free and passionate lifestyle is my
them. “Which song do you like?” went horribly wrong. “It was a “When I saw the way they sang real ideal. Singing is a method of
The two boys didn’t respond disaster! I forgot how to sing in that college, I wanted to escape,” achieving this lifestyle.”
and just kept listening to his CD. in the bright and fresh costume he remembers. “I’ve always been a Before he came to Beijing,
After a while, one of them took and makeup provided by the person who fears regulations and Huang had already decided to sing
out his wallet and left 60 yuan to company.” Huang says he was rules. I’d rather sing in my own in a subway. “I wish to touch other
Huang for his disc. in a bad state on that occasion. style.” Instead, he entered a med- people with my songs, at the same
“People often pay more than I “State” is a crucial thing for icine school. time as making a living by sing-
ask. Sometimes people even give him, and he is only in the right After graduation Huang ing,” he planned. But it was hard
me 100 yuan for a CD,” Huang ex- state when singing in the sub- joined a big hospital in his at the beginning.
plains. way, natural and relaxed. hometown. “The work there “I was too shy to go down and
Though he signed up with arts The next time Poloarts ar- was very easy. sing to the public, I thought it was
cHoofu mhaipnsa gtn iSmyh ePa oinnlo patrhretefs eu rans yp teroae strep anegntoido, ums ost ramato nang tCehdh —rfois rHt mhuiamasn tEgo v rpeee fpurafsorertdmy t lo—a sb te pack- Huang’s lunch is often a KFC meal. Isp eewvroe drrakayel ,dh a oonundrl syt h e lhpiuikste d obeneb gaug tbi nsigug .bh” waHtae,y a spnteidlrl f wroeormmreea smnucbnee-. r“sI
surroundings of the subway near aged up. “I just wore my own casual salary was sat- glasses. I hesitated a while and
the Capital Cinema in Xidan. “I’m clothes which I wear everyday in isfying,” he says. had to be pushed forward by a
still a busker, just as I was before my subway performances,” he says. “That kind of friend,” he says.
I joined the company,” says Huang. “There was a hole in my jeans safe and leisure- The subway path he picked was
The one-year cooperation with Po- and I skipped the makeup.” Huang ly life was not a quiet one. He made sure that no
loarts has made hardly any crucial even brought his own guitar for the for me. To me, one else would fi ght with him for
change to Huang’s life. The com- show. He felt comfortable and had a it seemed like a the place. His fi rst patron was a
pany is releasing his fi rst albums successful performance. “My friends waste of my life middle-aged man. “He listened a
this month, but he still spends ev- said I was great,” he smiles. living like that.” while and then he left 100 yuan
ery afternoon and evening in his Huang’s real fanbase are the A chance in my box.” This was a pleasant
subway, greeting passers-by with people who live nearby and walk came in 1997. surprise for Huang.
his songs and music, and collecting through the subway regularly. He came to He fi nished early on that fi rst
enough money to cover his bed and They usually greet Beijing to take day, with that 100 yuan in hand.
bSrue“baPkwefoaapsylte .s cianlgl mere ‘subway singer’”, hsaolismmo ewhtaiimtvhee saa tsshmmeiyal elwl acilnhl da t Ttahhrere si vueerbshw fuoa ryp twlhahey eaenrft Helreunaavoneosgn paBlau srtti n hignee qaru ncioatn ttithoeens t-. Hltihveee rdfeo itlnluo riwnnie ntdhg et mo s toohnuett hhs, m ohfa etl hls peh eocnsitttye o.l n Fheoe r
Huang smiles. It seems to be the with him. But few of contest when he hour wandering around the sub-
shift.
only true and proper name for him, them know he used to found that par- way everyday, collecting his nerves
simple and impersonal, which gives be a doctor in a hospi- ticipants from before performing.
him comfort and confi dence. tal in his hometown, his hometown who had failed in New year’s eve of 2001 was a
In summer 2000, Huang came to and that he left a safe the provincial contests had somehow special day for Huang. “It seemed
Beijing from his hometown Huang- and peaceful lifestyle been selected for the fi nals. “It was that nobody in the city slept that
shan (Yellow Mountain) in Anhui behind, to pursue the not fair play. I was suspicious.” night,” he says. The crowd listen-
province, and began to perform in “ideal and pure” life Nevertheless, the contest helped ing to him grew until it blocked
the subway. In the past two and a he has now. him get to know some music produc- the subway. He worried that near-
half years, he has become a regular Leaving home ers. He revealed his dream of becom- by policemen might blame him for
part of the subway scene and has Huang Shan is not ing a pop singer to them, and was causing a traffi c jam so he left
made a name in this underground his real name. When he told that fi rst he had to have enough for a while and came back when
community. The happiest thing for left home for Beijing in funds to pay to produce a CD. He the crowd had dispersed. But as
him is making a lot of new friends 2000, he gave himself sang at a bar in Beijing for a while. soon as he started singing, people
witPho tlhoea rpteso fpolue nwdh ho ilmik ei nh ihsi ms suusbic-. tthowisn n, athmee b teoa ruetmifueml Ybeelrlo hwi sM hooumnet-ain iHn uthane gs onuetsht loefs thine cai tsym.all hostel “pTahy em bea,r a onwdn Ie srt adyidend’ t greaathlleyr eexdc fiotirn hgi. mTh aagta wina.s “nT’th aatb owuats
way in 2001, and contracted him (Huangshan). “I thought maybe I there just as well as making money, it was about ap-
last year. Many people say Huang wouldn’t return home,” he says. many journalists often preciation and communication.”
is lucky to win the favor of Huang was the second child in visited his bar. And the Huang says he liked the feeling
a famous entertainment company, his family. He had a strict mother, chance of being discov- that everybody was looking at him
which is still a dream for most oth- who always scolded him for his ered by them was my but that nobody knew who he was,
er fringe singers scattered among poor performance at school. Both compensation.” in this big city. “When they intro-
the numerous subways in the city. his elder brother and younger sis- Actually no one duce me, they just call me ‘subway
But involvement with Poloarts ter did well in their studies. He discovered him as a singer’. I like this title,” he says.
has made little difference to the was made to feel inferior to his future star. So Huang Several papers were interested
rhythm of Huang’s daily life. He siblings, and was aware his mother returned home the fol- in his story and interviewed him.
still cherishes his commitment to didn’t like him at all. lowing year to earn But very few published his story.
his audience in the subway. “I When he was in grade fi ve in el- money to produce his “They wanted to write a sad and
gplyilv edaee spculearoerpe ilsne. Aitnhnsedt as tunhbta witn,a shyp,e”i rshaaety ipso,rn o uand-d esbameisdet ntstoian trghyee rs ccilnha ostoshl e,t h hcailsat smHs.uu “saFinocr gt etwhaaechs fi e trrhs et SHeullainngg thoi sp aCyD tsh eis b tihlles .main way for CisntDagr. ttIheneds thheoiassd po iowtfan rl ,eb hjuoesi ni-- sspeionnignteitmer,d ea nwntdha elw nse ttrohere ymy a ofbosotuulnytd da Ii s vwaapag-sr ant
is his best way of communication time, I discovered a strength I had,” Photos by Robert ness. He sold snake happy and contented with my life,”
with his audience. says Huang. “That made me exited. medicine and opened he laughs.
LEGACY
10
JANUARY 10, 2003
E-mail: [email protected] EDITOR: ZHANG XIAOXIA DESIGNER: LI SHI
Embracing the Art of
Earth and Fire
Colored Paintings inside Doumu Hall re-
main intact. Photo by Yang Ying
Blue and white doucai jar by
Ming and Qing
Xiong Hanzhong, Yanhuang
Art Gallery.
Decoration Uncovered
at Dongyue Temple
BTy Iris Miao
he love of ceramics must run
By Wang Yuan / He Zuo
through the veins of the Chi-
Wall inscriptions and well-preserved
nese, the crowds of enthusias-
colored paintings have been discovered
tic visitors to three on-going
during the course of the on-going
porcelain exhibitions in Beijing this
restoration of the west courtyard of
week are undeniable evidence.
Dongyue Temple near Chaoyangmen,
The exhibitions, though organized
also known as the Folk Customs
by different companies, all focus on art-
Museum.
ists from Jingdezhen, in Jiangxi Prov-
After removing a false ceiling built
ince. Over 100 artists covering a time
by more recent residents in the Doumu
span of a 100 years are represented,
Hall — colored paintings from the
from the famous group “Eight Friends
Ming and Qing dynasties were found
from Zhushan,” active during the late
covering the beams, brackets and heads
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) through the
of the rafters in the three rooms. The
Republic of China (1911-1949), to the
paintings, depicting flowers and plants,
youngest contemporary artist, who is
figures, and landscapes, remain mostly
only 26 years old.
intact.
Two of the exhibitions are being
The design and the dragon pattern
held simultaneously at Yanhuang Art
on the eaves and horizontal supports
Gallery, the third is at the Arts and
were standard in the imperial court, the
Crafts Shopping Center, in Wangfujing
contents of the wall paintings in Suzhou
Street. The several hundreds of works
style all come from the classics, and
on display and for sale, together col-
are elaborately rendered, according to
orfully illustrate the development of
Zhao Hongchen, a specialist on colored
modern and contemporary ceramics.
painting.
The exhibition at Wangfujing,
There were two halls in Dongyue
helped by its location and the presence
Temple for worshipping Lu Ban, the god
of an artist doing on-the-spot painting
of carpenters. The one with the newly
of roughcast porcelain, has attracted
discovered inscriptions on the wall was
thousands of visitors since it opened
built later than the other.
on New Year’s Day.
The story goes that during the
The bar is high for any ceramics One of the characteristics of contemporary porcelain painting is the diversity of the subject matter. Photos by Miao Yajie
late Qing Dynasty and early Republic
artist in Jingdezhen, for the fires of
of China, builders erected the first
kilns have been burning there for at
ship, variety, style and artistic pur- you can see the changing of the color, year, for artists such as Xiong Han-
Lu Ban Hall in the west yard of
least 1,700 years. Acknowledged by
suit in the over 2,000 years history of but the surface of the porcelain is zhong and Dai Ronghua, the increase
Dongyue Temple, where they gathered
the imperial court of the Song Dy-
porcelain. smooth. Wang Xihuai was a master of is even greater.”
to offer sacrifices every year. Later, the
nasty and known around the world
The glamour of the past is both a this technique.” Cui’s estimation is backed up by
carpenters began to gather there to
as the home of the famed blue and
source of pride and a heavy burden. Touching the surface of the plate, the organizers of the two other exhi-
worship too, leading to something of a
white porcelain for nearly a millenni-
The past 100 years have witnessed it is as smooth as an eggshell. But bitions. The market for modern and
territorial dispute.
um, Jingdezhen has produced a series
the most dramatic ups and downs for without the guidance of an expert, one contemporary master artists is quite
The carpenters argued that as Lu
of high points in terms of craftsman-
the art of porcelain making. However, may pass by the piece as an ordinary stable, and the authenticity of their
Ban was the founding father of their
judging by the three current exhibi- bird and flower composition, unaware exhibits are ensured, as the organiz-
trade, they certainly had the right
tions, it is clear that the modern and of the underlying artistry. ers all know or have personal relation-
to pay their respects to him there.
contemporary artists from Jingdezhen Three exhibitions offering over 700 ships with the artists or their families,
Eventually, a second Lu Ban Hall
have made undeniable contributions pieces from Jingdezhen at the same and the works mainly come directly
was built, so the builders and the
to the furthering of the art with their time might be seen as overkill. But in from their workshops.
carpenters each had there own place of
individuality, innovation, and charac- fact, the three exhibitions are slightly For novice collectors, Cui’s sug-
worship, and the dispute was settled.
teristics of the time. different in emphasis, in terms of art- gestion is to first read about the
The inscriptions on the wall of the
A few lotus leaves in blue and white, ists and their work, providing the mar- subject, to gain a basic knowledge.
second Lu Ban Hall record the building
birds and willow trees in doucai, or ket with a wide choice both in price Then depending on the amount one
of the hall and the carving of seven
joined color, is a rare piece among the and in artistic value. is prepared to outlay, start with the
stone tablets, which were found during
exhibits, jointly produced by late ce- Furthermore, the market for mod- younger artists before focusing on
the clean-up before the restoration
ramics master Wang Xihuai, and his ern and contemporary porcelain collec- the works of the masters, as current
project began last November. The finds
younger brother Wang Enhuai. tion is maturing. Cui Jinglin, organizer prices for younger artists’ works are
provide important information and help
“Technically and artistically, this of one of the exhibitions at Yanhuang relatively low, and there is much
fill in several gaps in the architectural
one is a masterpiece,” says Liu Yujing, Gallery has been in the business for scope for appreciation.
history of the period.
an organizer of one of the exhibitions over 40 years, in recent years, he has
“These antiques are now under
at Yanhuang Art Gallery. “The tech- held exhibitions focusing on modern Embracing Earth and Fire — Arts and
proper protection, and await for the
nique of applying blue and white to de- and contemporary masters every year. Crafts Shopping Center, Wangfujing
experts to carry out further study and
9:00 am - 8:00 pm, till Jan 15.
pict the lotus leaves is called qinghua “Many of my buyers are collectors,”
Exhibitions of the Ceramics Masters of this work out a complete plan for protection
On-the-spot painting attracts many fenshui, the color varies from dense to says Cui. “The market value increas-
Century — Yanhuang Art Gallery and reconstruction,” says Han Xiuzhen,
viewers. thin, from heavy blue to bright blue, es by an average of 10 percent every
9:00 am-16:30 pm, till Jan 19 curator of the museum.