Beijing Today News (January 1, 2016)

11.1 MB·English

by  Beijing Youth Daily Group

PUBLISHED BI-WEEKLY ~ ISSUE NO. 760 ~ JANUARY 1, 2016 ~ 3.00#
Ctrip, Qunar Charity Gives Opportunity
Merge to Grab Street Kids an Found in the
Online Travel Education ‘Foreign Box’
China’s two largest online Guangai is one of China’s Film producer Glachant
travel agencies are uniting to only schools giving street says China offers more
capture the market. Page 4 kids a future. Page 5 opportunities. Page 6
Vanishing
Murals
The murals of subway
Line 2 – the master works
of several artists – are being
lost as speeding trains shake
loose and shatter their pre-
cious tiles.
Subway operators say the
original molds are long lost,
making the mural art
impossible to replace or
restore. Page 2
Students Bound for Grad School Up After
CHINESE STOCK INDEXES
2-Year Downturn
SSE (Shanghai)
Close Change YTD
3,539.18 5 33.69 (0.94%) +9.41%
BY KARENA HU
SZSE (Shenzhen)
A
fter two years of being shunned by gradu- School Entrance Examination is unlikely to The popularity of economics, management Close Change YTD
ates, the National Graduate School Entrance cool down. Many undergraduates see a mas- and technology-related programs offered by 12,664.89 5 224.94 (1.75%) +14.98%
Exam appears to be making a comeback. ter’s degree as a safe haven in a tough job Project 985 and 211 universities remains while
As many as 1.77 million candidates market. Universities are also expanding their the history, education and humanity programs HSI (Hong Kong)
signed up for the 2016 graduate school exam, master’s offerings to improve their teaching received little attention. Close Change YTD
held from December 26 to 28, a 7 percent reputation,” said Xiong Bingqi, vice president of Xiong advised students to consider how 21,914.40 4 32.25 (0.15%) -7.16%
increase from last year, according to the 21st Century Education Research Institute, in useful graduate school would be for their
Ministry of Education. an interview with the ThePaper.cn. career development before charging in. Accurate to market close on December 31, 2015
There was a 19.4 percent increase in can- Likewise, a survey called 2016 National “Our undergraduates need to think clearly
didates from Guangdong province and a 19.05 Graduate School Admission Report by Eol.cn whether the degree will benefit either their
percent increase in candidates from Hubei drew a similar conclusion. Among the surveyed academic background or employment. It
province. Estimated enrollment for the coming 37,665 people, 43 percent said they expected would be better if they had a thorough career
school year rose 4.4 percent to 517,200 students the exam would bring more job opportunities plan before deciding to pursue a master’s
this year, the ministry said. and higher salaries – 13 percent said they saw degree,” he said. ~
“The popularity of National Graduate graduate study as a way to escape work. (Karena Hu is an intern at Beijing Today.)
Beijing Youth Daily Group President: Zhang Yanping Editor-in-Chief: Jack Wang ~ Content Director: Su Derui ~ Designer: Zhao Yan ~ Phone: [phone] ~ FAX: [phone]
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Chaoyang District, Beijing, China 100026 Published under the auspices of the Office of the Beijing Municipal Government. Run by Beijing Youth Daily Group.
2
JANUARY 1, 2016 NEWS BEIJING TODAY
City Opens
First Official
‘Plant Hospital’
BY DIAO DIAO
B
eijing General Hospital of Plants, the
city’s first plant hospital, opened on
December 17 to provide diagnostic ser-
vices and recovery and cultivation advice
to the city’s plant lovers.
Many Beijing families keep potted plants
– especially carrots, Napa cabbage and orna-
mental peppers that can also be eaten.
Common plant diseases such as aphids,
whiteflies, spider mites, mildew and gray
mold are the top killers of home plants,
said Zhang Tao, chief of the Science and
Education Division of Beijing Plant Pro-
tection Station.
Beijing General Hospital of Plants
received more than 30 cases in its first two
hours on opening day. Residents could also
ask for help through WeChat if they could
not bring their plants to the hospital.
Doctors at the plant hospital are strictly
selected by Beijing Plant Protection Sta-
tion and are required to recognize typical
and atypical symptoms in plants of differ-
Speedy Trains Destroying
ent growth stages, as well as be experts in
pest control and plant protection.
Doctors are licensed after professional
training and exams.
the Subway’s Murals
Beijing has opened more than 31 trial
plant hospitals in nine districts since 2012. ~
BY DIAO DIAO
A
fter 30 years, the murals on Line and the Great Wall, was made by Zhang is the most damaged. The mural, com-
2 of the Beijing subway are Ding in December 1984. Four pieces pleted in 1985, is missing 23 tiles. The
beginning to vanish. The colors have become lost from the image, and upper part of the compass is totally gone,
have gone dark, and the walls have two of the remaining tiles are damaged. the ship has lost its bottom, and the
become uneven. Many of the tiles are Dajiang Dongqu on the opposite side of ancient book about papermaking has lost
broken or missing. the station is missing five of its impor- more than 10 characters.
At least six of the large murals tant tiles. Many of the workers on Line 2 are
at the stations of Xizhimen, Dong- The murals in Dongsishitiao station younger than the murals. One officer
sishitiao and Jianguomen are severely show ancient sports such as archery, at Dongsishitiao said that the murals
damaged, Beijing Youth Daily reported. discus, horsemanship and fencing. The were never maintained after they were
Master works of famous artists are opposite wall’s Head to the World is a col- installed.
among them. lage of athletes made by Yan Shangde in A spokesman for the Beijing Subway
The Beijing Subway Company said the April 1985. All were created from 2cm Company said Line 2 is one of the busiest
original molds for the murals have been ceramic tiles. Missing tiles have given its lines, and the shockwaves caused by faster
lost, making it impossible to bake new male athlete a pockmarked face and its trains have caused most of the damage.
tiles to replace the pieces that are dam- female athlete a black mouth. It’s hard to collect the fallen tiles, and
aged or missing. The Four Great Inventions by Yan the mold is almost impossible to copy, the
Xizhimen station’s mural, Yanshan Dong and other artists at Jianguomen company said. ~ CFP Photos
Identity Theft Used to Buy Train Tickets
BY DIAO DIAO
A
Beijinger surnamed Sun was tickets purchased for a destination in only solution was to claim the tickets
unable to complete his recent Northeast China, and that Sun’s wife’s before the ID thief and to close the
train ticket purchase – not ID was tied to three different accounts account. The company said further
because of confusing verification codes, in 12306’s system. inquires must be directed to the police.
but because his ID had already been used Sun said she lost her ID card earlier Due to increasing restrictions, a
to make a purchase. this year and applied for a new one. passenger must possess a ticket and
“My wife and I wanted to buy tickets However, another ticket buyer sur- matching ID card before boarding a
on February 5 to go home, but we found named Jiang had similar troubles with train. But scalpers seem to have found
that my wife’s ID had already been used his ID when buying tickets even though a way around these restrictions using
to purchase tickets for February 3 and he never lost his card. identity theft.
4,” Sun said. Jiang ordered his business trip ticket Most purchase tickets for an entire
“12306.com releases tickets on dif- and went to Beijing West Railway Station trip using a stolen ID card, then purchase
ferent dates. Tickets on February 5 were Unfortunately, the tickets had to pick it up. On arrival, Jiang also found a second ticket from the middle of the
released on December 7. I wanted to get already been claimed by the time Sun his ID had purchased another ticket, journey using the passenger’s ID. The
a ticket to Shandong province, but the and his wife went to Beijing South Rail- which was just released that morning. passenger carries two tickets, boards
system told me that my ID had been used way Station to sort out the problem. Jiang took the ticket immediately. with the one matching his own ID, and
to buy February 4 tickets to Xinjiang,” Sun and his wife called 12306 for Beijing Youth Daily contacted 12306 then exits with either ticket at the end of
she said. help and learned there were another two about such cases, but officers said the the journey. ~
EDITOR: YANG XIN ~ DESIGNER: ZHAO YAN
3
BEIJING TODAY NEWS JANUARY 1, 2016
THE WEEK
IN WEIRD
STRANGE HAPPENINGS ON
THE CHINESE NEWS WIRE
BY SU DERUI
Bad Air Forces Thief to Turn
Himself In
The capital’s thick clouds of harmony proved
too much for a burglar from Hunan prov-
ince who hoped to hide in the city after
stealing 10,000 yuan worth of goods and
cash instruments in his hometown.
Auditing Blitz The burglar, a 20-year-old surnamed
Long, said the capital’s air caused his pneu-
monia to return, and on December 23 he
returned to Hengyang in Qidong, Hunan
Reveals Fund
province to submit himself to police custody.
Long was accused of stealing 2,000 yuan,
a laptop and two mobile phones together
Abuse in China’s
with his co-conspirators. He fled the prov-
ince when the two were arrested by police.
(Tencent News)
Top Schools
School Says ‘No’ to Parents’
Plan for Air Purifiers
Parents of students at a school in Huangpu,
BY YANG XIN Shanghai were crestfallen to learn administra-
Photo by Beijing Youth Daily tors would block their plan to purchase and
A install air purifiers in the students’ classrooms.
report on the Ministry of Edu- sity, Beijing University of Posts and to prepare the school’s yearly financial The school said it would be “unfair” if
cation and its subordinate units Telecommunications, China University of report, the report said. only some of the classrooms had air puri-
released by the National Audit Political Science and Law and Beijing The other three universities that had fiers, and that the inequality would cause
Office on December 23 has found more Normal University were all found to have similar financial issues have all adjusted psychological stress among the students
than 20 questionable actions in seven min- abused their funds or resources, accord- their financial accounts, except for Beijing studying without clean air.
isterial administrations, five universities ing to the report. Peking University was University of Posts and Telecommunica- One of the parents, a man surnamed Zhang,
and some of the ministry’s subordinate the worst offender. tions, which is still renting school property said the school took issue with the idea that air
institutions. In 2013 and 2014, Peking University and collecting rents without approval. purifiers should be allowed on school grounds at
The accusations range from misappro- misappropriated nearly 9.54 million In terms of research institutes, the all, citing a lack of precedent in similar schools.
priation of budget funds and government yuan in special funds for its subordi- Institute of Geology and Geophysics affil- (Tencent News)
vehicles to illegal call for bids, excessive nate colleges’ rent expenses. It also iated to Chinese Academy of Science was
Man Asks Police to Test His
meeting expenditures, abnormal financial used 12.2 million in special funds to found to have misappropriated 13.1 mil-
Hooker for AIDS
accounts, illegal renting of school proper- cover expenses outside its core disci- lion yuan in public funds for its pension
ties and overpayment of staff salaries. pline construction. The university was and labor expenses and to have diverted It’s a wise idea to check whether one’s sexual
In 2014, the Ministry of Education also found to have multiple departments almost 11.1 million yuan in research funds partner has any diseases before engaging in
misappropriated 1.1 million yuan of spe- falsifying their expenses, Beijing Youth to cover its administrative spending. intercourse. It’s less of a good idea to check
cial funds to cover a subordinate research Daily reported. Similarly, the Chinese Academy of after one has already gone ahead with the act.
institute’s work-related costs without per- Tsinghua University was named Engineering was found to have appropri- But if you are really out to unlock the
mission, according to the report. mainly for its excessive meeting costs. In ate 18.12 million yuan in special funds to Dumbass Achievement in the game of life,
Tsinghua University, Peking Univer- 2014, it spent 91,500 yuan on meetings cover its daily public expenses. ~ consider learning from one 38-year-old Anhui
resident named Cao: pay for sex with a prosti-
Mother Sues Hospital for Failing to tute and then call the police to come and have
her drug tested.
Police arrived to arrest the pair and con-
Detect Fetal Defects
firmed that Yin tested negative for all STDs.
All it cost was 3,000 yuan and a 10-day admin-
istrative detention.
BY YANG XIN
I (Tencent News)
n spite of numerous pre-natal inspec- ordered it to pay 50,000 yuan in medical
Male Lactation Consultant
tions, a woman surnamed Wang gave fees, nursing care and compensation.
Rubs Women the Wrong Way
birth to a child with leg edema caused Wang filed an appeal and sought an
by a neuroblastoma cancer on December additional 800,000 yuan in compensa- Students at a course for lactation consultants
26, 2012. Three years later, her child tion. The Beijing Second Intermediate in Chengdu were surprised to learn their
remains unable to walk. People’s Court heard the case on Decem- newest classmate was a man.
The medical disaster drove Wang to ber 21, but its judgment has not been The student, identified by the pseudonym
file a lawsuit against Fuxing Hospital of announced publicly. Xiao Yang, said he was interested in studying
Capital Medical University, which per- A gynecologist who refused to be named how lactation training could be connected
formed six prenatal tests before her deliv- told the Beijing News that the doctor oper- with traditional Chinese medicine.
ery and gave her no notice of potential ating the B ultrasound scanner failed in Lactation consultants earn between 300
Photo by Beijing News
birth defects. his duty to notify Wang about the potential and 800 yuan for their services. Fewer than 30
Wang said a B ultrasound scan The hospital said medical limitations risks of her thickened abdominal wall after men work as lactation consultants in China.
revealed her abdominal wall was unusu- make it impossible for regular prenatal one of the scans. However, associating A woman surnamed He, director of oper-
ally thick when she was 20 weeks preg- tests to detect all potential diseases. It that anomaly without neuroblastoma would ations at Family Services Training Center,
nant. The doctor did not notify her of the also said its ultrasound image was no have been impossible, she said. said Xiao Yang was the first male applicant
anomaly, she said. blurrier than is common in the proce- The boy is now attempting to enroll in to their training course. His admission has
As a significant tool for detecting fetal dure, and that tumors are impossible to a school. “Few kindergartens will accept caused problems for the course, since most
deformities, a B ultrasound scan clearly detect from the image. my boy, and all are far from where we live lactation consultants in training practice
portrays the body structure of the fetus. In September, the Xicheng District and require me to accompany him all day breast massage on each other and are
Wang said the hospital only offered her a Court ruled that Fuxing Hospital bore long. I might have to quit my job for him,” expected to bare their chests.
blurry image. 20 percent responsibility in the case and Wang said. ~ (Tencent News)
EDITOR: DIAO DIAO ~ DESIGNER: ZHAO YAN
4
JANUARY 1, 2016 BUSINESS BEIJING TODAY
Ctrip and
Qunar’s Merging
Ends Travel
Price War
BY SHU PENGQIAN
C
hinese online travel agent all of a sudden it was “betrayed” by its Faced with such an outcome, Ctrip’s aged users to pay for travel and sped up
Ctrip’s wish to merge with its shareholder Baidu for the company’s Online merger with Qunar remains a better tourism development.
competitor Qunar has finally to Offline (O2O) strategy. alternative. However, in the long term, it has
come true. At the end of Octo- In the domestic online travel market, Before the merger, Ctrip and Qunar harmed the development of online
ber, Ctrip announced it made a deal for a Baidu has two powerful opponents: Alib- had an overlap in many services. This over- travel agents.
stock equity exchange with Baidu. Accord- aba and Tencent. Alibaba owns two online lap enhanced the competition between the The travel market is easily influenced
ing to the deal, Baidu would acquire 25 travel agents Alitrip and Qyer, and Ten- two parties and increased their conflict. by many factors: slack seasons, peak tour-
percent of Ctrip’s shares and Ctrip would cent has invested in the travel agents However, after the merger Ctrip will be ism seasons, national policies and emergen-
acquire 45 percent of Qunar’s shares. Elong and LY.com. able to make use of Qunar’s resources to cies such as infectious diseases and natural
Baidu invested $306 million into Qunar Baidu has long been trying to find make up for deficiencies in weak fields and disasters. That instability means online
in June 2011 and became Qunar’s biggest a way to fight back against Alibaba and consolidate its strengths. travel agents must bear greater risks.
shareholder. Since then it has pushed the Tencent, and for that it needed a solid In the first half of 2015, Qunar However, “Ctrip merging Qunar
company to become the world’s largest basis for its overall O2O strategy. Being an accounted for 35.3 percent of the online implies the price war in online travel
online travel agent. The estimated market intermediary between Ctrip and Qunar airline ticketing market while Ctrip market may end temporarily,” Wu Zhixi-
value of Qunar is $5.3 billion to Ctrip’s and promoting their merger is Baidu’s accounted for 30 percent. As for online ang, CEO of LY.com, noted in an interview
$10.6 billion as of this year. first step. hotel bookings, Ctrip held 38.9 percent, with Economic Daily.
But while Ctrip is happy with the Statistics from Enfodesk Analysys and Qunar held 24.4 percent. The merger Online travel agents are gradually
merger, Qunar remains uneasy. shows, in the second quarter of last year, helps Ctrip increase its market occupancy returning to rational business practices
The two sides announced their inten- Ctrip controlled 38.7 percent of the online in both the online airline ticketing market and considering how to compete for fair
tion to merge in early June. Yet, because travel market and Qunar took 30 percent. and online hotel booking market and gives and healthy development.
they couldn’t reach a consensus on which By exchanging stock equity, Baidu now it a chance to become the king of China’s That might mean online travel agents
side would retain control, negotiations controls the majority of China’s travel online travel market. increase their emphasis on developing new
were put aside. market and has an opportunity to integrate Weakening one enemy and adding a products and services, not on money-burn-
Meanwhile, Qunar released a state- its other businesses. friend allows Ctrip to pay more attention ing price wars.
ment exposing the details and its inten- As sad as Qunar may be about Baidu’s to improving its own service, increase its Unfortunately, it’s not good news for
tion to reject the plan for merging put betrayal, the company has no choice: Qunar competitive power and develop its busi- customers who have come to depend on
forward by Ctrip. posted a deficit of 1.84 billion yuan in 2014. ness. On November 12, Ctrip opened a new low-price travel.
In August, Qunar and Ctrip reported “By the end of December 2014, the business unit to handle the business of In addition, some customers and
each other to Anti-Monopoly Bureau under total value of Qunar’s cash, cash equivalent travel in nearby regions. experts worry that Ctrip will monopolize
the Ministry of Commerce, each denounc- and short-term investments was 1.5 billion But the merger also has far-reaching the online travel market, because it now
ing their opponent for violating China’s yuan,” Zhunang Chenchao, founder and consequences for the online travel market. controls the biggest percentage of the field.
antitrust laws. president of Qunar, told Economic Daily. “If China’s online travel agents have been But whether that happens and what to do
Then, while Qunar was absorbed in it continues to lose money at such a pace, locked in a price war. Over the short about it will be the business of China’s anti-
thinking about how to fight against Ctrip, Qunar won’t survive this winter.” term, the low-price strategy has encour- trust regulators. ~
CFP Photos
EDITOR: SHU PENGQIAN ~ DESIGNER: ZHAO YAN
5
BEIJING TODAY EDUCATION JANUARY 1, 2016
Charity School These parents either have mental illness These course are mostly taught by vol-
or are physically disabled. These chil- unteers. Although the school is a charity
dren are forced to end up on the street. school, Shi said it still has an obligation
Some get jobs to take care of their par- to help students develop their interests
Opens Future for
ents, and others end up wandering from and passions.
city to city as beggars,” Shi said. Monthly operating costs hover at
around 60,000 to 70,000 yuan, and most
Street Children Home, Education of the money comes from donations. Shi
and Future said they have long-term cooperation
“There are no more than three schools with enterprises including ConocoPhil-
like Guangai in China,” Shi said. lips. Guangai also has its own fund,
Shi created Guangai 12 years ago. At which is mainly used to support students
S BY WANG YAN first he only provided shelter and food who are admitted to universities.
hasha (pseudonym), a six-year-old for street children, but later on he real- After finishing the six-year primary
girl, had been begging from city ized “offering them food is no better school in Guangai, students are offered
to city with her father for almost than offering them a good education.” free education at one of three vocational
a year. Her father was disabled and said Shi then started teaching kids by him- schools in Beijing. A-list students can be
her presence would encourage passersby self. Through years of work, Guangai has recommended to the engineering school
to donate more. developed into a leading school center under Beijing Automotive (BAIC).
Upset by the little girl’s street life, for street children.
Shasha’s aunt contacted volunteers with Currently, Guangai has two branch Problems
a charity organization in Beijing. Last schools: one in Anhui Province and one Like many village schools, the biggest
month Shasha was sent to Guangai, the in Beijing. The one in Anhui focuses on challenge Guangai faces is a shortage of
only charity school for street children in middle school and high school educa- teachers. The 107 students are taught by
the capital. tion, whereas the one in Beijing is a pri- seven teachers, and each has to teach
mary school. several courses.
Street Children Located in Shunyi district, Guangai “It’s hard to get teachers. The job
In 2012, United Daily News reported that has 107 students. Unlike regular schools, is low-paying and tiring. These children
Photos by LS666
China had approximately 1 to 1.5 million Guangai emphasizes on providing are special, and we require our teachers
street children. Yet it’s hard to gauge tives or friends. “home,” “warmth” and “a loving envi- to stay with the children 24 hours a day,”
the accuracy of that number when juxta- More often than not, the care they ronment” for students. Shi said. Most of the teachers in Beijing
posed against China’s fast development. receive is less than satisfactory. “These children are different from are retired teachers.
Shi Qinghua, the headmaster of Guan- In June, news about four left-behind regular kids. They think differently, and Shi said the situation in Anhui is
gai, said attempts to formulate such a children killing themselves by drinking they behave differently. They all, to better, as the local government is offer-
number are ultimately “meaningless.” pesticide shocked the country. The three different degrees, have psychological ing help to find teachers. But Shi added
“It does not really mean anything and girls and a boy, aged between 5 and 13, wounds. They either are abandoned, left the majority of the government’s effort
is never accurate. There is a phenomenon had been left to fend for themselves for behind or have lost their families. Either is to “prevent children from ending up
called ‘repetitive tramping’. If the system three months before their suicide. way, it’s hard for children to process if no on the street.” Whenever the police or
cannot satisfy these children’s needs for Their mother reportedly left the home proper help is provided.” the protection center finds a street child,
living, food and education while also fail- in Bijie, Guizhou province in March 2014 Guangai collaborates with East China they have to send him back home in 15
ing to offer them a home, they will just after a dispute with the father, who dis- Normal University. Psychologist volun- days.
end up back on the street,” Shi said. appeared four months after and left the teers come to school every week to talk “But taking care of street children
Family is the key issue behind street children a debit card. It had 3,500 yuan to the students. Shi said whether the stu- needs collaboration of different depart-
children, he said. left when they died. dent is violence prone or depressed, the ments from street management to police,
“There are left-behind children: chil- Although the news shocked the coun- ultimate solution is love. women’s and children’s associations and
dren who have lost their parents; chil- try and triggered a nationwide review “No matter how bad they’ve behaved, educators. Currently there is no com-
dren with a single parent; and so on. of the Ministry of Civil Affairs’ welfare you have to give them a secure and prehensive system offering that kind of
Most children who end up on the streets system, the problem of left-behind chil- loving environment. You will see grad- help,” Shi said.
do so because their family fails to offer a dren remains prominent. And left-behind ual change. It’s a process, and when the “I would be happy if one day I could
complete home,” Shi said. children easily end up on the street in the environment is friendly and warm, it will close the school because that would mean
Data showed that the number of left- hands of begging and criminal gangs. be shorter,” Shi said. society is finally taking care of these chil-
behind children reached 61 million in “There is another type of children we In the morning, students study regu- dren on its own,” Shi said. ~
2014. Left-behind children come mostly try to help. We call them trapped chil- lar courses such as Chinese, English and
Qwww.bjgaxx.cn
from rural areas, where their parents dren, as neither of their parents has the math. And in the afternoon, students can
M 010-69472748
have abandoned them to the care of rela- ability to work or to take care of them. choose to learn drawing, music or sports.
EDITOR: YANG XIN ~ DESIGNER: ZHAO YAN
6
JANUARY 1, 2016 COMMUNITY BEIJING TODAY
French Film
Producer
Seizes China’s
Opportunities,
Promotes Its
Directors
BY SIMINA MISTREANU
I
sabelle Glachant, founder of the film production com- trampoline to have the actors fly, so you see them move,
pany Asian Shadows, has produced Chinese movies but they actually fly, and it’s so beautiful,” she says.
such as 11 Flowers and Nanjing! Nanjing! She studied cinema in college in France but continued
The Frenchwoman has lived in China for “a very to return to Hong Kong every year for the film festival. She
long time,” drawn at first by Jackie Chan’s films, and became a correspondent for Canal +, a French movie chan-
later by the so-called “sixth-generation” Chinese direc- nel, and eventually moved to Hong Kong.
tors, with their artistic movies centered on social issues A year later, the French embassy in Beijing hired her as
and personal stories. an audiovisual attaché. From that position, she interacted
Glachant’s role is often that of a bridge between Chi- often with Chinese moviemakers who were participating
nese and European film industries and professionals. She in French film festivals and other events.
is also the China representative for UniFrance, an asso- When she was preparing to leave the embassy job, direc-
ciation dedicated to promoting French films abroad. And tor Wang Xiaoshuai asked her to work with him as a pro-
11 Flowers, released in 2011 by director Wang Xiaoshuai, ducer. In the mid-2000s, producing a movie in China was
was the first French-Chinese co-production, after the two often a one-man show, she says: the director wrote the script,
countries signed a co-production treaty in 2010. directed, produced, edited, sold and publicized the film.
China has a quota of no more than 34 imported movies At first, Glachant handled the international sales and
per year, but co-productions fall outside of that category. international launch of Wang’s movie Shanghai Dreams.
With the Chinese box office growing 30 percent year-on- But on subsequent projects she became more involved.
Photo courtesy of
year, more and more countries are interested in gaining a With 11 Flowers, she was the one who convinced Wang
Isabelle Glachant
foothold in the Chinese film market. In 2014, South Korea they could obtain financing for the film and entered the
and the UK also signed co-production agreements. project in funding competitions at festivals.
Glachant’s relation to Chinese cinema is tied to the She started collaborating with more Chinese movie- “In France the boxes are much more limited,” she says.
unique point of view that can come from Chinese direc- makers, as well as French directors and organizations. “If you’re young, you would not work with an established
tors, she says. The two countries are interested in working together, filmmaker because established filmmakers will only work
“It’s not because it’s Chinese that I like it,” she says. and France often has funds available for Chinese movies, but with an established producer, so I would never have been
“It’s not because it’s Chinese that I will defend it. But I their work processes are very different, Glachant says. Euro- able to do the films I’ve done (…) The opportunities that
will defend the Chinese director because he is that direc- peans require fully developed scripts before they can con- China gives you are just amazing.”
tor and he has that point of view and he has that style and sider funding a movie, whereas in China you only need an In recent years, Glachant’s company, Asian Shadows,
he is that unique.” idea, a partly developed script and an enthusiastic investor. has expanded beyond China’s mainland to produce and
“In China (they ask), ‘I have to wait 1 1/2 years for you handle international sales for movies made in Taiwan and
Flying Fighters to bring in money? Forget it! I don’t need the money. Let’s Indonesia. A generation of directors has emerged in South-
Glachant first came to China as a middle school student on put in my money. Let’s shoot it now!’” she says. “But they east Asian nations that are similar to the “sixth-genera-
a trip with her mother. She returned after finishing high don’t always see that the waiting is actually good for the tion” Chinese directors from 15 years ago: “They do films
school for a year of Chinese language study in Guangzhou. project because you work more on the script. And if the that are very profound and intense because for them it’s a
She decided Chinese, with its countless repetitions of strokes script is better, your film will be better.” need to do films. It’s not a job,” she says.
required to learn a character, didn’t suit her. But that year As for the rapidly growing Chinese movie market, Gla-
she happened to attend the Hong Kong Film Festival. A Jungle chant hopes mature audiences will start going to the movie
She fell in love with Jackie Chan and director King Glachant sees China like a jungle in which anything can theaters, which today are filled by people in their early 20s.
Hu’s martial arts movies. She thought their movies were happen, both good and bad. It’s a country where you can “I know there’s money, but money’s not always the
refreshing because the characters didn’t kill each other grow fast because people don’t put you in boxes, she says – best,” she says. “You need someone to still be saying a very
but instead engaged in a fight that was more like a dance. except for the “foreigner box,” which is still big enough to French thing like cinema is art, let’s do a good film and
“King Hu’s (films) are very poetic because he was using let you accomplish things. then we see what happens.” ~
Co-Productions Increasingly Popular in
China’s Film Market
BY SIMINA MISTREANU
A
s China’s film market has become UK and South Korea signed such agree- Around 40 co-productions are co-production was submitted in 2015.
the second-largest in the world, ments in 2014, while France has one released every year in China, but last year Historically, British movies were not
more and more foreign studios dating from 2010. saw 50 to 60 such projects, Miao said. wildly successful in China, but this year
are trying to tap into its revenue. A record number of Chinese co- “Co-production projects are very com- the movies Kingsman: The Secret Service,
China limits the number of imported productions were released in 2015, petitive, and they will contribute to a Paddington and 007 Spectre all fared well
movies to 34 per year, but co-productions said Miao Xiaotian, president of bigger and bigger share of the Chinese at the box office, said Amy Liu, partner at
– movies produced jointly by two coun- China Film Co-Production Corpora- film market,” Miao said. He said the the consulting firm EntGroup.
tries – are not counted toward that quota. tion, during a roundtable organized in higher quality of international projects is Spectre took 410 million yuan at the
Thus countries are scrambling to set up November by representatives of the Brit- what makes them popular. Chinese box office during the first week
co-production treaties with China. The ish film industry. The first application for a China-UK of its release, Miao said. ~
EDITOR: SIMINA MISTREANU ~ DESIGNER: ZHAO YAN
7
BEIJING TODAY EMBASSY JANUARY 1, 2016
Triennale di Milano
International Exhibition
Makes a Comeback
BY SIMINA MISTREANU
T
he 21st Triennale di Milano International Exhibition will
take place in Milan in 2016. The historic event was estab-
lished in 1923 in the city of Monza and moved to Milan in
1933. The last Triennale Exhibition took place 20 years ago.
The theme for this year’s edition is “21st Century, Design
After Design.” The theme challenges participants – archi-
tects, artists and scientists – to explore “new cardinal points”
and establish the foundations of culture in the future.
Organizers are seeking design solutions for major
issues related to globalization, technology, migration,
changing markets and “the creation of new scenarios of
coexistence.”
The Triennale Exhibition will take place between April
2 and September 12 at several venues in Milan, including
Fabbrica del Vapore; Leonardo da Vinci National Museum
of Science and Technology; Diocesan Museum; and Palazzo
della Permanente.
The event will host three types of participants: official par-
ticipants, non-official participants and “Under 35” participants.
Official participants are governments from countries that
have received official invitations from Italy’s Minister of For-
eign Affairs, Paolo Gentiloni.
Non-official participants are local institutions and bodies
such as universities and architecture and design centers. The
“Under 35” category collects projects in architecture, design,
crafts, film, music and fashion from professionals younger
than 35, including individuals, groups and schools. Projects
have to be built around the theme “21st Century, Design
After Design.”
Photos by triennale.org
Germany to be the Largest Non-Regional
Shareholder in AIIB
BY YANG XIN
A
fter having approved plans to ing $4.5 billion, making itself the fourth Beijing, the Embassy said.
buy a stake in the China-led largest shareholder after China, India AIIB currently has 57 prospective
Asian Infrastructure Invest- and Russia. founding countries and an authorized
ment Bank (AIIB) earlier this October, According to the German Embassy capital of $100 billion.
the German government has finally in China, Germany deposited its instru- AIIB was formally established on
lived up to its commitment by contribut- ment of ratification of the AIIB Articles December 25 and is expected to com-
of Agreement at China’s Ministry of mence operations early this year, Xinhua
Foreign Affairs on December 21. News Agency reported. The establish-
Germany will partner with the ment came after 17 funding members of
AIIB closely for the fulfillment of its the AIIB ratified an agreement.
mandate and tasks. This includes “In regular years, given $100 billion
compliance with international in registered capital, I think every year
standards, the German Embassy I expect to do [lend] probably $10 bil-
said in a statement. lion to $15 billion a year, for the first five
Germany will also to six years,” said Jin Liqun, the pres-
have an executive ident-designate of the AIIB in a public
director from Ger- statement in mid-December.
many based in Jin said the first board meeting will
be held in January, and the first lend-
ing may take place in the second half
of 2016.
In terms of future investment, Jin
said the AIIB will emphasize projects
that have a strong connection to infra-
structure and Internet development. He
said AIIB’s support on these projects
will propel the merging of traditional
industry with Internet technology.
Photo by Wall Street Journal
EDITOR: WANG YAN ~ DESIGNER: ZHAO YAN
8
JANUARY 1, 2016 NEWS RELEASE BEIJING TODAY
I
n the three years since its creation
by the Beijing Youth League, Beijing
Youth Camp International (BYCI) has
expanded to include six branch campsites
in Miyun, Huxin, Shunxin, Shunyi Minbing
and Yongxu Jiayuan in Daxing district.
The camps provides various outdoor
and indoor activities for youth and help
to build confidence and leadership through
games. The camps promote friendship
between Chinese and foreign youth
through outdoor activities.
Every week, BYCI holds various activ-
ities for groups of youths and adults
from Beijing, other provinces and for-
eign countries.
On December 12, the closing ceremony
of the fifth Beijing College Students’ Read-
ing Festival started in BYCI. On December
23, a lecture about BYCI’s “Travel in
Europe” Activity was held at Shangdi
Shiyan Elementary School.
Beijing College Students’
Reading Festival
The closing ceremony of the fifth Beijing
College Students’ Reading Festival was
held in BYCI’s Huxin Campsite on Decem-
ber 12.
Students from reading societies in more
than 60 colleges shared their experiences
Distinctive Activities in
about how to organize a community. BYCI
tutors provided leadership and creativity
training. “Outstanding Reading Society”
Beijing Youth Camp and “Outstanding Cadre” were chosen for
the closing ceremony.
The fifth Beijing College Students’ Read-
ing Festival started in May. During the
International
eight months, Beijing College Students’
Reading Union and other college societies
launched various activities at thousands
of colleges.
Chinese writers and emcees were
invited to lecture at Communication Uni-
versity of China, Peking University, Tsing-
hua University, Beijing Normal University
and other universities in Beijing. Students
in these colleges got chances to communi-
cate directly with celebrities.
Meanwhile, Beijing College Students’
Reading Union conducted a voting activ-
ity about selecting college students’ favor-
ite books and writers. The list included 239
books and 157 writers, and 3,387 students
cast their votes over the Internet.
The 10 winning books were World of
Plainness, The Three Body Problem, Xi Jin-
ping: The Governance of China, 100 Years
of Solitude, Wolf Totem, Cultural Perplex-
ity in Agonized Travel, History of Ming
Dynasty, The Da Vinci Code, Food Diction-
ary and Le Petit Prince.
The 10 writers were Jin Yong, Liu
Cixin, Mo Yan, Yu Qiuyu, Feng Jicai, Qia
Pingwa, Jiang Nan, Zhou Guoping, Bi
Shumin and Yang Jiang.
‘Travel in Europe’ Activity
Every year, BYCI organizes Chinese stu-
dents to travel European countries during
the summer and winter holidays. During
the trip, students can not only enjoy the
scenery of foreign countries but also learn
reporting skills.
On December 23, Chang Hong, edi-
tor-in-chief at Beijing Children’s Weekly,
trained students at Shangdi Shiyan Ele-
mentary School in Haidian district. In his
lesson, Chang narrated stories that stu-
dents reported on and reviewed the inter-
viewing skills they learned during the
“Travel in Europe” activity. ~
(By Shu Pengqian, Zhu Bei)
Photos by BYCI
EDITOR: SHU PENGQIAN ~ DESIGNER: ZHAO YAN