Innehållsförteckning för Vol.66/No.49 från Beijing Review

A best practice first recognized decades ago is being increasingly revisited to advance social governance in China. Over the past decade, President Xi Jinping has reiterated the importance of adhering to and developing the Fengqiao model, a dispute mediation strategy created in Fengqiao, a town in Zhuji City, Zhejiang Province. In the 1960s, officials and residents in Fengqiao explored ways of resolving disagreements within the town rather than escalating them to higher-level authorities. At that time, the People’s Republic of China had been in existence for only around 10 years and the legal system was still in the early stages of development. In order to decrease conflict and better maintain social stability, communities in Fengqiao began persuading those involved in disputes to solve them at the source through mediation. In…

Human rights are what we want out of life for ourselves and our loved ones. The genius of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, co-drafted by Chinese diplomat Peng Chung Chang, is that it extends the enjoyment of dignity, justice, freedom and peace to everyone, even to people who could have been our enemy. Article 1 of the declaration, which is imbued with Chinese thought, states: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” Subsequent articles in the declaration also reveal Chinese sensibilities. Chang, as vice chair of the drafting committee, was credited with providing “the philosophical backbone of the declaration” even by those who disagreed with…

On November 19, the People’s Bank of China (PBC), the country’s central bank, announced it will allow Mastercard NUCC Information Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., a joint venture between Mastercard and Chinese firm NetsUnion Clearing Corp., to conduct bank clearing business in China. This approval made Mastercard the second international bank card clearing institution operating in the Chinese market, following American Express, which was approved in 2020, and one of the three bank card clearing institutions in China, along with China UnionPay, the country’s largest bank card payment processor. American Express broke China UnionPay’s monopoly in the country’s bank card clearing market by establishing Express (Hangzhou) Technology Service Co., a joint venture it set up in 2020 with LianLian DigiTech, of which it owns 49 percent. This latest joint venture is…

Bingz, a Chinese crispy burger brand with about 500 stores in China, opened its first North American store in Canada in 2021. Its star product is the adapted roujiamo, a Chinese snack resembling a hamburger with shredded meat and mild peppers stuffed into flat buns that originated in Shaanxi Province in northwest China. It has now opened three restaurants in Canada. iMpact, a global communications and business consulting group based in New York City, was a part of Bingz’s overseas marketing success. According to Chris Pereira, CEO of iMpact, the group helps Chinese companies build their businesses and expand their markets overseas, especially in North America, Europe and Singapore. In addition to Bingz, iMpact also works with Chinese brands such as online car dealer Carnex and New Link, a company…

Why do raindrops not kill mosquitoes? Why is yawning contagious? Why is it that the more gray hairs you pull out, the faster the remaining hairs on your head turn gray? These are the kind of questions that first make you laugh and then leave you a little puzzled. But scientists all over the world have already uncovered the secrets behind these phenomena. And to honor their efforts, the Pineapple Science Award has been created, shining a light on the interesting parts of our lives that are valuable to research—but easy to ignore. Laugh and think The award that honors curiosity-led research was originally initiated by the Zhejiang Science and Technology Museum and Guokr.com, China’s leading popular science website, in 2012. The idea was inspired by the Ig Nobel Prize,…

Dr. Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State, on November 29 passed away at his home in Connecticut at the age of 100. On the other side of the Pacific, many Chinese felt a sense of loss and sadness when they learned of his death. The centenarian last visited China on July 19. At Villa 5 of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, where Kissinger met with Chairman Mao Zedong during his secret trip to China 52 years ago, President Xi Jinping welcomed him with a banquet, noting that Kissinger had just celebrated his 100th birthday and had made more than 100 visits to China over the years. “We never forget our old friends and your historic contributions to promoting the growth of China-U.S. relations and strengthening the friendship between the two…

In a recent exclusive interview with Beijing Review reporter Li Xiaoyang, Paulette Bethel, Ambassador of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to China, shared her views on China-Bahamas relations. Edited excerpts from their conversation follow: Beijing Review: Could you introduce major fields of cooperation between China and The Bahamas? Paulette Bethel: Since the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the People’s Republic of China established diplomatic relations [in July 1973], the bilateral relationship has been growing as mutual understanding increases through various cooperation and partnership undertakings in culture, trade, health and other areas of mutual concern and interest. Much of The Bahamas’ engagement with China is structured through memorandums of understanding and agreements on infrastructural development, agricultural assistance and cooperation, as well as educational and skills-based opportunities. Bahamian youth and technical officers…

Shands. Take a seat. Time to talk. After a four-year hiatus, the foreign ministers of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) finally got together for their trilateral meeting in the ROK city of Busan on November 26. The three countries should play a more active role in promoting regional and global development in the face of accelerating changes unseen in a century and the slow recovery of the world economy, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and ROK Foreign Minister Park Jin. This face-to-face dialogue helps ease, to some extent, the current divergences among the three, while expanding cooperation in areas where they share common interests, Da Zhigang, Director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang…

‘With four stories forming four concentric circles, our building has over 400 rooms. Sleeping in one room per night, you can stay here for over a year. Like a mushroom or a mysterious earthen castle, the building accommodates 600 people.” These are lines in a promotional video presenting the Chengqi Building, a tulou or earthen house built in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in Yongding County, Longyan, Fujian Province. As the tallest and oldest existing circular building in the province, locals refer to it as the “King of Tulous.” In its heyday, the building housed more than 600 people and protected them from invasion. Nestled in the mountains, its residents use the limited farmland available to them to grow rice, persimmons and tea. But in recent years, tourists curious about the…

XIAOMI FOUNDER DONATES TO ALMA MATER Smartphone maker Xiaomi’s founder Lei Jun donated 1.3 billion yuan ($183.7 million) to his alma mater Wuhan University on November 29, on the 130th anniversary of the university’s founding. The donation is the highest-ever to a Chinese higher learning institution by an individual contributor. The funds will support basic research in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, literature, history and philosophy, as well as scientific and technological innovations in computing science, and the nurture of undergraduates. Lei graduated from Wuhan University’s School of Computer Science and Technology in 1991. In 2010, he founded Xiaomi, which is now one of the world’s top five smartphone makers. Prior to this latest donation, Lei had donated a total of 130 million yuan ($18.4 million) to the university…

The current Palestinian-Israeli conflict has caused heavy civilian casualties and a serious humanitarian disaster. It is a grave concern of the international community. President Xi Jinping has stated China’s principled position on the current Palestinian-Israeli situation on a number of occasions. He stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire and ending the fighting, ensuring that the humanitarian corridors are safe and unimpeded, and preventing the expansion of the conflict. He pointed out that the fundamental way out of this lies in the two-state solution, building international consensus for peace, and working toward a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question at an early date. Pursuant to the Charter of the United Nations, the Security Council (UNSC) shoulders primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and…

Here’s a recent news clipping that may not have been breaking news, but still got a lot of attention: On November 24, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that China had expanded its list of unilateral visa-free countries. From December 1, the trial policy will be in effect for one year, until November 30, 2024, and allow holders of ordinary passports from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia to enter China without a visa and stay in the country for up to 15 days. This is China’s latest effort to improve its visa policies. Earlier last month, the country extended its visa-free transit policy to 54 countries, including Norway. The one-sided visa waiver is a breakthrough in the history of China’s foreign relations. For a long time, China had…

China’s connections with the Latin American region trace back to the 16th century, facilitated by marine trade routes that enabled the exports of Chinese silk, porcelain and lacquerware to Mexico. In The Silver Way: China, Spanish America and the Birth of Globalization, 1565-1815, authored by Peter Gordon, editor of the Asian Review of Books, and Juan José Morales, former President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, it is revealed Spanish dollars minted in Mexico served as “the first global currency that supported trans-Pacific trade.” In 1972, China and Mexico established diplomatic ties. The friendship between the two countries has since grown stronger over time. This year marks the 10th anniversary of both the establishment of the China-Mexico comprehensive strategic partnership and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).…

Though shot in different years and set in different locations, hit U.S. television series such as The Big Bang Theory, Friends and Ugly Betty have one thing in common: Some of their main characters frequently ordered food from Sichuan restaurants, with Sheldon Cooper, the socially awkward theoretical physicist in The Big Bang Theory, famously “freaking out” when his favorite Chinese restaurant Sichuan Palace moved. Credible? Yes. Actually, Sichuan cuisine is one of the hottest Chinese cuisines in the world—in both flavor and popularity. Another testament to the popularity of Sichuan cuisine is the mushrooming of Panda Express, an international fast food corporation that offers typical dishes with origins in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, including the orange chicken, tangerine chicken, black pepper chicken and Kung Pao chicken. Panda Express…

In February 2020, my blood pressure reached uncontrollable levels, prompting me to make lifestyle changes. Despite my passion for work, I have realized the importance of taking care of my wellbeing. Although I have resided in Shenyang for quite some time, I never found the leisure time to explore its inner beauty until my health problems surfaced. After my friends became aware of my blood pressure issues, they would suggest various methods to prevent my condition from worsening. One previous coworker introduced me to Between the Lines Coffee, a café in Tiexi District of Shenyang that offers a music-filled and hospitable environment. Even with inclement winter weather lingering through the spring season, I still went to the café on March 5, 2021. The former Shenyang orchestra member who owns this…