China: Interesting personalities

[ahojunk]

Across China: Heartwarming documentary touches on Sino-Japanese friendship
Source: Xinhua | 2016-08-09 01:03:40 | Editor: huaxia

BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Born in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Maruyama Iwao was just 11 years old when he was repatriated to his native country, Japan in 1946.

Now 81, Maruyama's story has been made into the documentary, "Travel With Me: A Journey of Gratitude Over 70 Years," which is set to be screened in China Tuesday.

The film tells the story of Maruyama's recent bicycle trip, where he retraced the journey he made from from Harbin to Huludao, Liaoning Province, 70 year ago.

"Along the way I was touched by the helpfulness of Chinese people, just like in the old days," Maruyama said.

Tian Yuhong, vice head of China Radio International, which produced the documentary, said that they would like the film to make people reflect on history, enhance Sino-Japanese relations, and call for the respect of peace and life.

During the Chinese people's war of resistance against Japanese aggression that ended in 1945, more than 35 million Chinese people were killed or injured.

More than one million Japanese people were sent back home between 1946 and 1948.

"At that time, China was in the heat of civil war," Maruyama said. "To ensure our safety, many Chinese people protected us along the way. Japan committed such a crime but we were ultimately forgiven. Were we on the Chinese side, I am not sure if the Japanese would have done the same."

Maruyama hadn't thought of retracing his journey in China until 2011 when he was working as a volunteer, following the massive earthquake in Japan.

He met another man who planned to travel in China by bike and decided to join him. The plan sounded crazy to many.

"I was 77 years old, and Japan and China were not on good terms due to the Diaoyu Islands dispute," he said.

But he could not be dissuaded.

In 2012, they rode about 300 km from Shanghai to Nanjing, eastern China.

Inspired by the trip, Maruyama had an even bolder plan.

"I was helped by so many Chinese people," he said.

"Should I die before saying thanks to them? It would have been a great regret to me."

The journey from Harbin to Huludao was three times longer than his previous bicycle trip. It was easy to think that a man of his age simply wouldn't be able to do it.

"The first time around, I could only ride 15 km without stopping," he said. This time, he could ride for as long as 100 kilometers each time.

In Harbin, he returned to the streets where he played as a child. He fondly remembers a man called Mr. Lin. In the winter of 1945, the coal and grain in Maruyama's home had all been used up. They were desperate, but Lin gave them a helping hand so that his family didn't starve or suffer from the cold.

"I never did have a chance to thank him," Maruyama said. Lin died some years ago.

However, he did manage to find another old neighbor, Mr. Zhu. When finally shaking his hand, Maruyama was full of emotion.

"If we ever did anything that hurt you, I apologize," Maruyama said.

"Forget about it. Let's cherish the days we have now," Zhu replied.

Another beautiful moment is when Maruyama met a boy wearing a simple garland of willow twigs on his head.

"With my awkward Chinese, I said 'that is pretty,' and he just gave it to me there and then," Maruyama said.

In return, the old man offered the boy the towel he was wearing on his head.

"But he wouldn't accept it. Maybe because he was not as bald as me and didn't need it!" Maruyama said, smiling.

He also talked about a young mother who gave up her seat for him on the subway, and the customs officer at the airport customs who let him bring through two bottles of wine, even though his luggage was overweight.

"Chinese people are just as friendly as they were 70 years ago," he said.

The documentary will be available online at CCTV, Letv, Xinhuanet, and people.com.

At the end of the film, Maruyama visited a monument near the port of Huludao, which marked the site of Japanese people's departure 70 years ago. He made a paper plane, threw it and watched it gently glide into the distance.

"May the friendship between our two countries never die," he said.

 

[ahojunk]

Chongqing mechanic defies expectations, publishes several novels
(People's Daily Online) 19:16, August 05, 2016

(Photo/cqnews.net)​

A motor mechanic from southwestern China's Chongqing municipality has published 4 novels totaling 3 million words on the Internet over the past six years, local media reported.

During the daytime, Zhao Kang is a mechanic at a local garage. At night, he sits in front of the computer and composes his stories. Zhao can write 5,000 to 6,000 words per day.

Zhao began to display an interest in literature during middle school. He always used to read with his teachers, explaining that books brought him into a whole new world. After middle school, Zhao started working in Guangdong in order to help earn money for his family. During his career, he has worked in many places around the country in various industries, which gave him a unique perspective on life.

Two years later, in want of a more stable life, Zhao returned to Chongqing and studied motor mechanics. After finding a job in a local garage, Zhao began to write novels in his free time. The first novel he published earned him just under 3,000 yuan ($451). Though the money wasn't much, Zhao was still happy that there were people who loved reading his stories.

Zhao never received much of an education, but he has been an avid reader for years. With an eye for details, Zhao can always find new material for his books. His second story, told serially, was the sixth most popular piece on a literary website within six months of its publication. That story earned him 80,000 yuan, which is twice his yearly income.

When asked why he doesn't quit his job and focus on writing, Zhao replied that he enjoys the experience of doing two kinds of work. As a motor mechanic, Zhao says, he has to be responsible to his customers; as a writer, he must satisfy both his readers and himself.

Zhao spends almost all his spare time writing novels--a situation for which he apologizes to his family. However, Zhao hopes to set an example for his son to pursue his dreams and never give up.

(Photo/cqnews.net)​

 

[ahojunk]

There are claims of people who are the oldest in the world.
This woman is the oldest women in China. My congratulations to her.

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World oldest woman turns 119
2016-08-21 11:35:58 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Guo Jing

The world's oldest woman, Fu Suqing, living in Chengdu of southwest China's Sichuan province, welcomed her 119th birthday on August 21, 2016. [Photo: Chengdu Business Daily]

The world's oldest woman, Fu Suqing, living in Chengdu of southwest China's Sichuan province, welcomed her 119th birthday on August 21, Chengdu Business Daily reports.

With a great-great-grandson born four days ago, the senior now has 68 offspring.

Fu's family preparing a birthday banquet on August 20, 2016. [Chengdu Business Daily]​

One day earlier, Fu's family had begun preparing a birthday banquet for more than one hundred guests.

According to 83-year-old Xu Shuhua, Fu's second daughter, twice cooked pork had been Fu's favorite food. Now Fu likes to eat boiled green peas and drink boiled water.

Results of a physical examination last month show that Fu Suqing's health is very good. Her great-granddaughter, Leng Ting, said Fu could still do some cleaning in recent years.

However, in the last six months, Fu lost some weight and eats less, and she spends most of her time sleeping, Xu said.

 

[bobsm]

Author of Folding Beijing wins Hugo Award

Source: Xinhua | 2016-08-21 16:15:23 | Editor: huaxia

Hao Jingfang, author of Folding Beijing (File photo)

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Hao Jingfang, author of Folding Beijing, became the second Chinese writer to take home a Hugo Award when she won a Best Novelette award on Saturday at the 74th World Science Fiction Convention in the United States.

"I hope the real future will be brighter than my story," the post-80s writer, who graduated from Qinghua University's Department of Physics in 2006, said at the 2016 Hugo Awards Ceremony held in Kansas City Convention Center.

Wearing a beautiful white dress, she looks like an angel.

"Folding Beijing" tells of the struggle of a father trying to send his daughter to school in futuristic Beijing, an allusion to the difficulties that some Chinese parents are undergoing to ensure their children receive a high quality education.

In 2015, the first ever Asian writer Liu Cixin won a Hugo Award for Best Novel for sci-fi bestseller The Three-Body Problem, which is the first part of a trilogy, sending ripples of excitement across China's Internet and the sci-fi community.

Established in 1953, the Hugo Awards acknowledge the best works of science fiction or fantasy and are seen as the highest honor bestowed in science fiction and fantasy writing. They are named after Hugo Gernsback who was the founder of the American science fiction magazine Amazing Stories.


http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-08/21/c_135621505.htm

 

[Three_Kingdoms]

Cao Wenxuan becomes first Chinese writer to receive Anderson award
Updated: 2016-08-21 10:17
(Xinhua)

http://www.bshare.cn/share

Cao Wenxuan (C) attends the awarding ceremony of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in Auckland, New Zealand, Aug 20, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]


Cao Wenxuan, one of China's most popular authors of children's fictions, received the Hans Christian Andersen Award here on Saturday, becoming the first Chinese writer for the most distinguished international honor for children's literature.

Cao shared the prize, handed out every other year, with German illustrator Rotraut Susanne Berner who was absent from the grand prize-giving ceremony was attended by some 300 readers, publishers and members of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY).

"Cao Wenxuan's books don't lie about the human condition," Patricia Aldana, president of the Hans Christian Andersen Award jury told the audience, "They acknowledge that life can often be tragic and that children can suffer."

Except for Cao, other shortlisted competing writers are from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States. He has won all the hearts of 10 jurors and was voted unanimously the winner of this year's prize.

Patricia Aldana, president of the Hans Christian Andersen Award jury, addresses during the awarding ceremony of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in Auckland, New Zealand, Aug. 20, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]


"Cao writes beautifully about the complex life of children facing challenges. He's a deeply committed writer whose own child life has been deeply influential on his writing," she said.




Cao Wenxuan gives a speech during the awarding ceremony of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in Auckland, New Zealand, Aug 20, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

The host of the event, New Zealand TV presenter Miriama Kamo pointed out a coincidence that Margaret Mahy, a New Zealander writer received here Anderson Award a decade ago in China while a Chinese writer receives one for the first time in New Zealand.

Chinese writers have been involved with Anderson Award decades ago when another writer Jin Bo was nominated for the prize in 1992. A few others have been nominated afterwards, but none has won the prize.

Zhang Xiaonan, chief editor of China's leading publication group of children's literature recalled that insufficient application materials were to blame at the time.

IBBY president Wally De Doncker lauded efforts by Zhang and her China Children's Press and Publication Group, which launched special program to promote better translation and overseas publishing of Chinese authors' works.

Cao, one of the best of his peers in China, sailed with wind and anchored his merit in history with a strong belief that the best authors and their works in China can speak for the best literature in today's world.

"As a matter of fact, we have been there for some 15 years," he told the press after receiving the award. "The world had just not realized it then."

 

[Three_Kingdoms]

How a lesser-spotted Chinese billionaire is saving Alaska's wildlife

• Scott Cendrowski @scendrowski

MAY 18, 2015, 5:05 AM EDT

• 

Wang Wenliang, a donor to the Clinton Foundation, Harvard, and NYU, is also involved in one of China’s largest wetlands preservation projects.

Outside the city of Dandong, in China’s far northeast, just across the border from North Korea, exists one of China’s largest wetlands. Two hundred and fifty thousand acres are home to dozens of species, most notably a group of migratory birds called godwits that journey from New Zealand to Alaska every year, stopping in the wetlands for a two-week break each spring before resuming their flight for Alaskan summertime.

A special area of fifty thousand acres where the birds migrate isn’t open to tourists, doesn’t advertise, and until recently wasn’t known to many nature conservancy groups operating in China—all traits of the man who protects it: billionaire Wang Wenliang.


Wang was a little-known Chinese entrepreneur, running a private construction company until this spring, when his $2 million donation to the Clinton Foundation created headlines in the U.S. Media reports noted his relationship with the Chinese government. Wang’s construction firm built the new Chinese embassy in Washington D.C. and, according to his official biography, Wang once worked within China’s government, serving as an economic advisor to the municipal government in his home province of Liaoning before leaving to start the construction company in 1998. He later came to control the port in his hometown of Dandong (although a company controlled by the local government still owns 20%). Wang is now worth $2 billion, according to the Hurun Report.

Recently, Wang has donated to Harvard, New York University, and the Washington think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies. The giving has raised questions. Who is this businessman? What are his motivations? Who is he trying to influence?

The same questions surround his conservation project in China.

The wetlands represent one of the few areas under protection by private business in China. Wang’s company spends $2 million a year to upkeep his portion (50,000 acres, equal to 80 square miles, out of a total of 250,000 acres, 400 square miles, most of which the local government oversees), according to Song Peiran, a vice president in Wang’s Dandong Port Group.

Five years ago, Wang spent $8 million buying out fish and shrimp farms working in the waters. A few remaining holdouts agreed not to shoot or trap the birds like they had in the past to avoid losing their fish to the birds. The area is home to hundreds of types of plants, 44 bird species, 88 types of fish, and 54 types of small mammals.

Philanthropy remains rare in China, and conservation projects are even rarer—the effort against shark fin soup led by former NBA star Yao Ming is one of a few examples. Ming Sung, who leads the Clean Air Task Force Asia Pacific region, had dinner with Wang ten days ago before visiting the wetlands, where he saw the godwits before they resumed their flight to Alaska. Sung’s NGO is partnering with Wang to reduce greenhouse gases at the port.

Sung says he and other guests were skeptical about Wang’s intentions. “I asked, `What’s in it for you?’” Sung says. “He said he wanted to do good for his future generations.” Sung remembers Wang assuring the small dinner crowd he wasn’t interested in opening the area to floods of tourists or commerce. “He said he just wanted to protect his hometown.”

It may be about making up for the past, too. Before Wang started the wetlands conservation project five years ago, he was involved in reforming a government-owned paper factory in the city of Dandong, which sourced its material from the wetlands area. The factory was eventually closed for environmental reasons.

http://fortune.com/2015/05/18/how-a-lesser-spotted-chinese-billionaire-is-saving-alaskas-wildlife/

 

[ahojunk]

More about the world oldest woman. It's a great achievement to live till 119.
She looks cute with the paper hat.

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World's oldest woman celebrates her 119th birthday
2016-08-22 16:20:29 | China Daily | Web Editor: Wang Kun

A photo shows Fu Suqing celebrated her 119th birthday in Chengdu citry of Southwest China's Sichuan province on August 21, 2016. [Photo: wccdaily.scol.com.cn]


Fu Suqing from Chengdu city in Southwest China's Sichuan province just celebrated her 119th birthday on Sunday, Chengdu Economic Daily reported.

Fu was identified as the world's oldest woman respectively in 2013 and 2016 by London-based Carrying The Flag World Records, which is devoted to recording world records.

"As usual, relatives and friends came to celebrate my great-grandmother's birthday," said Leng Ting.

Leng estimated that Fu's family has roughly 68 people, including Fu's youngest great-great-grandson, who was born recently. "In the last two years, Fu has had five great-great-grandchildren, and the oldest of them was 23 years old," said Leng.

Despite the hot weather, with a kerchief on her head, Fu wore a long sleeve shirt and trousers, red stockings and cotton shoes. "Please carry me to somewhere cool," Fu said to her family members after waking up.

"Nowadays, she always sleeps for a while, then sits for a moment, and then goes back to sleep," said 83-year-old Xu Shuhua, Fu's second daughter.

According to Xu, in recent months, Fu lost some weight and spent most of her time sleeping. Even during the short period when she sat in the living room, Fu closed her eyes and calmed her mind.

Besides, Fu's eating habits have also changed a lot. "She ate less than before. Today she just had spoons of soup," said Xu, who told Chengdu Economic Daily that her mother used to enjoy twice-cooked pork and a bowl of rice almost every meal.

However, these days Fu mostly has steamed pumpkins and sweet potatoes, and thoroughly braised green beans. Also, Fu prefers boiled water to stewed soup, said Xu.

According to a health examination in July, Fu's blood pressure is in the normal range, that is, between 119 and 74. What's more, Fu's cell detection results are even better than a normal young man.

"A few years ago, my great-grandmother was in such good health that she could bundle up firewood, sweep the yard, and even reach navel oranges on trees with her stick," said Leng.

 

[ahojunk]

When I saw the title, I had a good laugh.
But after reading through the story, I have mixed feelings.
He has committed a serious crime, but then he has turned his life around and redeemed himself.
How should society punish him? It's a tough question.

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Outlaw disguises as monk for 16 years brought to justice
(CRI Online) 18:33, August 31, 2016

File photo shows Zhang Liwei took part in an activity in the temple.(Photo from WeChat)​

Getting away with murder, switching identities, getting a job as a janitor in a temple, rising through the ranks to become abbot, elected as a political advisor and becoming chairman of local Buddhist Association - you can't say that the last 16 years of Zhang Liwei's life hasn't been somewhat dramatic.

But this astonishing journey came to an abrupt halt on August 12, 2016, when police raided the temple he was in and arrested him for the murders he committed back in November 2000.

Zhang was suspected along with 4 others of killing three people in northeast China's Heilongjiang province, becoming the subject of a police manhunt.

He fled to east China's Anhui province, where he changed his name to Sun Hongtao.

In 2001, he took a job as a helper in Baisui Temple on the Jiuhua Mountain of Anhui province. Being an outgoing and easygoing person he fitted in well.

However, after a conflict with a tourist who refused to buy a ticket in 2002, he moved to Longxing Temple in Fengyang county where he settled down once more.

There he became a monk, taking advantage of the loose verification process at the time.

According to a monk there, Zhang started working there as a janitor. He was gradually promoted due to his popularity with the people there and his talent for management.

He began to take charge of the temple around 2007. About the same time he was elected as a political advisor of Fengyang county.

In 2008, he received an official household registration, or hukou, in the name of Sun Hongtao in Fuyang city, also in Anhui province, completing the process of changing his identity.

An official of the police station where Zhang apparently registered had no memory of his case.

In the same year, he was elected as the political advisor of Chuzhou city as well as vice chairman of the Buddhist Association there.

In 2011, Zhang filed the names of the principal monks of the temple in the records of the religious authority of Fengyang city.

"When we checked Sun Hongtao's information then, we didn't find anything wrong," says an officer of the religious authority.

In 2014, after a temple election, on the recommendation of the former abbot, and after sailing through the verification process of the Buddhist Association of Fengyang county, plus after filing documents with the local religious authority, Zhang took up the position as the abbot of Longxing Temple.

In March 2016, he was elected as the chairman of the Buddhist Association of Fengyang county.

Far from deliberately avoiding contact with the outside world to reduce the risk of discovery, Zhang took an active part in public life, choosing to travel using private cars.

He was discovered by the police while making an application to travel abroad, which required taking photos and fingerprints, according to one monk in the temple.

The police compared photos and confirmed that Sun Hongtao was actually Zhang Liwei, the fugitive on August 10, 2016. They arrested him two days later.

When he was arrested, he appeared composed, confessing his real identity and the crime he had committed.

According to the local religious authority, Longxing Temple has donated over 1 million yuan (around 15 million USD) in recent years.

Zhang has also been supporting two poor students in the area by giving them money every month. He is on record as saying that he would support them until they graduated from college.

During his days as abbot, he also had the temple renovated from a former state of dilapidation.

But can the good deeds he has done redeem the crime he once committed?

The abbot who has succeeded him finds that question hard to answer.

After hearing the story of Zhang, a Buddhist nun in the humble Buddhist nunnery beside Longxing temple sighed and said that "Buddha teaches us to confess our wrongdoings and Zhang should have confessed his crime, if he sincerely follows the Buddha's teachings."

 

[ahojunk]

There was a story on him early on in this thread. This is a recent story.

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Richard ‘Uncle Hanzi’ Sears dedicates life to the pursuit of Chinese etymology
By Huang Tingting Source:Global Times Published: 2016/8/31 19:33:39

Richard "Uncle Hanzi" Sears Photo: Courtesy of Zhang Lei​

With his white beard and big belly, Richard Sears, or Uncle Hanzi (meaning Chinese characters) as he is known in China, certainly doesn't look like the typical Internet celebrity in China.

Yet five years ago he became famous overnight on Chinese social media after a Chinese blogger wrote a post about Sears' Chinese etymology website. Amazed with his two decades of effort researching Chinese characters, Chinese netizens gave him the nickname Hanzi Shushu.

A former programmer, Sears has been attempting to break down every known Chinese character through a computing algorithm based on over 96,000 ancient characters that he has scanned into his self-run chineseetymology.org from ancient classics such as the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) dictionary Shuowen Jiezi and characters inscribed on ancient Chinese bronzes.

While many Chinese were stunned by what the 60-year-old foreigner had achieved, some wondered what experts thought of his work.

"Academically speaking, chineseetymology.org is not very professional as its arrangement of Chinese characters is in disorder and therefore fails to present a timeline for a character's development," the International Herald Leader quoted Guo Yongbing, a professor from the Research Center of Excavated Documents and Ancient Chinese Characters at Fudan University, as saying after links to chineseetymology.org were posted on the center's website.

"And there are many errors in ancient classics that Richard Sears uses as references."

Despite experts viewing Sears' work as having "little academic value," he is still seen by many as a voice from the grass roots, especially after he won the Light of China Award along with Russian and Japanese sinologists in 2015. The award is presented annually by the Ministry of Culture and China Central Television to people who have made outstanding contributions in promoting Chinese culture.

Currently, Sears is working on a Chinese etymology database that "is unlike any Chinese database you've ever seen."

A different kind of research

Born in 1950 in Oregon, Sears earned his bachelor's degree in physics and a master's degree in computing. He later traveled to Taiwan in the 1970s.

He started learning Chinese in the early 1990s and later established his website in 2003. For a time he struggled to support the site, but, fortunately, after he rose to Internet fame in 2011 he began receiving contributions, mainly from individuals, to support the site.

In 2013, a foundation called the Chinese Dream offered him a research grant worth 700,000 yuan ($104,000), but things haven't worked out just yet.

"So far I haven't received a cent [from the foundation]," Richard told the Global Times in an interview in late July.

According to Sears he is approaching Chinese characters in a new way with his research.

"I study the cognitive psychology of character recognition. Chinese have not analyzed Chinese characters in this way," he explained.

"Chinese experts, some of them are very traditional and do not think outside the box," he said.

"Some of them think outside the box, but in different directions. But that's okay."

According to Sears, many experts in the Chinese language are actually foreigners.

"The reason is Chinese [language] for Chinese is just a tool. So they're not really interested in the language," he explained.

"But for foreigners it is a difficult process. So we want to understand why."

When it comes to criticism about his website, he admitted there is room for improvement.

"In the past I just posted pictures of the characters on my site and made no analysis. But now I'm trying to figure out how these characters were formed."

A way of life

"I want to stay in China to learn more about Chinese characters," Sears has been quoted as saying in numerous interviews.

Not everyone has been supportive of his passion for characters. Sears has remained single after his second wife left him 20 years ago because she thought his Chinese character studies were just "a waste of money."

"Maybe I am not cut out for marriage," he said.

Since moving to China three years ago, life hasn't been easy. Finding a permanent job has been particularly difficult.

He recently worked for a company in Shanghai that produces educational material, before that he spent three years working as a physics professor at Beijing Normal University.

"But I have no regrets choosing the life I'm living now," Sears told the Global Times.

"One should not just do what other people tell you to do. You need to find your own interests and pursue it even if it doesn't make you rich."

Currently he wants to go back to teaching. However, it is extremely hard for him to land a job at a Chinese college, "because I'm not a PhD and I'm now 66," he said.

Although he is getting on in years, Sears isn't letting his age keep him from his research.

"Normally when he feels too tired to work, he will sleep for two to three hours. Then he wakes up and continues working," said Zhang Lei, his Chinese assistant in Shanghai.

"I feel like I'm 25!" he laughed when asked if his schedule has impacted his health.

On Saturday morning, after another failed attempt to obtain a work visa in Shanghai, Sears boarded on a flight back to the US. Since his degrees were not the right fit for the education company he was working with, he failed to successfully receive the R Visa for foreign experts.

"But there is good chance that Tsinghua University may offer Richard a job, but everything is still under discussion. Hopefully that can help settle his visa issue," Zhang told the Global Times on Saturday.

Newspaper headline: A matter of character

 

[ahojunk]

IMHO, she is indeed a bodhisattva. The world needs more people like her.

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Gifts of the heart
2016-09-02 08:52China Daily | Editor: Feng Shuang

Jeanne Riether does resilience activities with children who are getting treated for leukemia at a Tianjin hospital in 2015. (Photo provided to China Daily)​

For Jeanne Riether, volunteer work has been a focus of her life no matter what part of the world she's found herself in over the past few decades.

"When you actually realize you are finding a way to make a difference to someone's life, you want to do that for the rest of your life," says the 60-year-old humanitarian worker from the United States.

China will mark its first National Charity Day on Sept 5, in a sign of the growing significance of charitable efforts, including volunteer work.

Growing up in Connecticut, Riether was drawn to Asia since she was young. She lived and did humanitarian work in several Asian countries, such as Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, before coming to China.

Her first visit to China was in the mid-1980s. She was working in Kathmandu for a travel magazine and was invited to visit the Tibet autonomous region, Chengdu and Kunming by China's tourist authorities.

"Then, I just always wanted to come back to live in China someday. It's just one of those things you don't forget. And about 10 years later, I really did," she says, laughing.

Riether has lived in several Chinese cities, such as Chongqing and Harbin, mainly doing voluntary work and teaching at school.

Now residing in Tianjin, not far from Beijing, Riether splits her time between directing a volunteer project and teaching children English.

Riether is conducting a training session in Tianjin for volunteers on how to use games to help children who have experienced trauma. (Photo provided to China Daily)​

The volunteer project, called "Healing Young Hearts", is operated by the nonprofit Cathay Future Culture and Art Foundation. It is devoted to creating free and practical resources, such as games, activities, inspirational stories and articles to help hospitalized children find emotional healing after heartbreak, illness and trauma.

Its resources have been used by parents, teachers, volunteers and organizations worldwide.

With only a few full-time workers, the organization also collaborates with universities, hospitals, psychologists and educators to train volunteers.

In the past five years, her organization has trained more than 1,000 volunteers, many of them college students. The volunteers are encouraged to go in the hospitals to interact with children to make the experience less stressful.

Sometimes doctors and nurses aren't prepared to deal with children's emotional pain, "even though they can treat their physical symptoms", Riether explains.

The current project, Riether says, is a continuation of her efforts after the catastrophic Sichuan earthquake in 2008, when she visited the quake-hit zone six times to help local children recover from trauma.

Working in the northeastern city of Harbin at the time, she says her first impulse was to rush there to help.

Jeanne Riether. (Photo provided to China Daily)​

"I felt like my hometown had gone through such terrible tragedy," explains Riether, who had lived previously in Chongqing near Sichuan for seven years and knew the area well.

She soon realized that there were few trained psychologists available to help the local children.

She collaborated with Sichuan Children's Center, which was among the earliest to take in children who couldn't find their parents. She coached parents, teachers and volunteers to relate to the traumatized children.

Riether and her partner organizations gathered material and created a handbook for disaster recovery.

The handbook of international cooperation was approved by China's Ministry of Education for use in the disaster zone, and more than 20,000 copies were distributed for free.

Inspired by the relief-work results, Riether began to help children in other crises, such as disease and abusive situations, by adapting the materials she'd collected for Sichuan and ctraining new volunteers.

Riether says she started to love voluntary work for children after she became a mother in 1980. Having published a number of books on different topics, Riether is interested in how to use stories to help children.

"Characters who overcome difficulties can become role models," she says.

Jeanne Riether. (Photo provided to China Daily)​

"Suffering is always a difficult thing to see. We always wish we could change that. At the same time to see the resilience of the human spirit is amazing, and to play a part in that is wonderful."

Thanks to her influence, her seven children, two now studying in Chinese universities, have been involved in volunteer work since they were young.

Spending years in China, she has been able to visit many parts of the country.

"What impressed me most in China is the welcoming spirit of people," says Riether. "After 20 years I feel like I am still learning so much about China. It's changing so fast－China is a new country every five years."

Riether says she has observed many positive changes in China's charity environment in the past years.

She is also optimistic that China's new charity law, which went into effect on Thursday and requires organizations to operate transparently, will further boost charity in the country.

She recalls that in the beginning it was difficult for ordinary people to understand volunteerism. However, major national events like the Sichuan earthquake and the Beijing Olympics helped people realize they could actually do something in a united way.

"Charity here is getting on its feet and starting to run," says Riether.

 

[Shotgunner51]

Interesting, WWE has already signed Bin Wang, and now signing another seven new recruits from China. Seems like this sports, or some say entertainment show, is becoming popular! They are:

1. Big Boa (192cm and 100kg) is a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He was named the 2016 Brazilian jiu-jitsu China Open Gi/No-Gi champion and represented China at the 2013 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships.
2. Gu Guangming (203cm and 130kg) is an amateur boxer from Mudanjiang, ranking among the top amateurs in his weight class since 2012. He won the National Men’s Championship in his weight class in 2014.
3. Gao Lei (178cm and 145kg) is a champion in various Beijing traditional wrestling promotions and was the team leader of Mongolian University’s wrestling team.
4. Wang Xiaolong (190cm and 110kg) of Beijing, studied at the Shandong University of Technology and the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy for music production.
5. Yifeng (188cm and 108kg) is an actor from Shanghai, and a graduate of the Shanghai Theater Company. Yifeng was most recently featured in the movie Lady and Tiger in 2014.
6. Cheng Yuxiang (188cm and 102.5kg) is an expert level fitness trainer from Beijing, certified by Beijing Zhuo Zhonghua International Fitness Academy. Cheng also participates in various Chinese boxing competitions across the country.
7. Zhao Xia (162cm and 62kg; Female) has trained in martial arts and is the co-founder of her own fitness studio. Zhao has multiple first place finishes in various martial arts and fitness competitions including, the Second World Traditional Chinese Wushu Championship, Nike Challenge Competition and First China Throw Down: Battle on the Bund.

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment...s-Seven-Chinese-Recruits-Ahead-of-9210269.php

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/13/sport/china-pro-wrestling-wwe/index.html#

 

[AndrewJin]

Cao Wenxuan becomes first Chinese writer to receive Anderson award
Updated: 2016-08-21 10:17
(Xinhua)


Cao Wenxuan (C) attends the awarding ceremony of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in Auckland, New Zealand, Aug 20, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]


Cao Wenxuan, one of China's most popular authors of children's fictions, received the Hans Christian Andersen Award here on Saturday, becoming the first Chinese writer for the most distinguished international honor for children's literature.

Cao shared the prize, handed out every other year, with German illustrator Rotraut Susanne Berner who was absent from the grand prize-giving ceremony was attended by some 300 readers, publishers and members of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY).

"Cao Wenxuan's books don't lie about the human condition," Patricia Aldana, president of the Hans Christian Andersen Award jury told the audience, "They acknowledge that life can often be tragic and that children can suffer."

Except for Cao, other shortlisted competing writers are from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States. He has won all the hearts of 10 jurors and was voted unanimously the winner of this year's prize.

Patricia Aldana, president of the Hans Christian Andersen Award jury, addresses during the awarding ceremony of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in Auckland, New Zealand, Aug. 20, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]


"Cao writes beautifully about the complex life of children facing challenges. He's a deeply committed writer whose own child life has been deeply influential on his writing," she said.




Cao Wenxuan gives a speech during the awarding ceremony of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in Auckland, New Zealand, Aug 20, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

The host of the event, New Zealand TV presenter Miriama Kamo pointed out a coincidence that Margaret Mahy, a New Zealander writer received here Anderson Award a decade ago in China while a Chinese writer receives one for the first time in New Zealand.

Chinese writers have been involved with Anderson Award decades ago when another writer Jin Bo was nominated for the prize in 1992. A few others have been nominated afterwards, but none has won the prize.

Zhang Xiaonan, chief editor of China's leading publication group of children's literature recalled that insufficient application materials were to blame at the time.

IBBY president Wally De Doncker lauded efforts by Zhang and her China Children's Press and Publication Group, which launched special program to promote better translation and overseas publishing of Chinese authors' works.

Cao, one of the best of his peers in China, sailed with wind and anchored his merit in history with a strong belief that the best authors and their works in China can speak for the best literature in today's world.

"As a matter of fact, we have been there for some 15 years," he told the press after receiving the award. "The world had just not realized it then."

I have read a lot of his novels when I was in school. So colorful and warm!

 

[TaiShang]

Tibetan woman helps raise 5 million yuan to free 6,387captive goats

September 09, 2016
People's Daily

A Tibetan woman helps raise 5,109,600 yuan to buy 6,387 goats from various slaughterhouses.(Photo from Internet)

The Weibo account of a professor at Northwest University for Nationalities broadcast a message on Sept. 4. According to the message, a Tibetan woman spent 5,109,600 yuan to buy 6,387 goats from various slaughterhouses. The goats were later freed in the grasslands of Sertar County, Sichuan province. The post has triggered heated online debate.

The Tibetan woman had recounted the deed on her own Weibo and WeChat accounts onSept. 2, correcting a few misconceptions. First, she said that the release of the goats was organized by a group called “Snowland Release Group,” and that the funds were the result of donations from nearly 100 people.

Based on the woman's WeChat Friends Circle, a reporter from the paper.cn concluded thatthe goats were freed on Aug. 30. They were purchased and transported from slaughterhouses in Xining and several other places. Despite the formal "release," the Tibetan woman reported that the goats are actually being kept temporarily by local farmers; they didn't just free the goats randomly in the grassland.

Many netizens have praised the group's actions. However, others worried about the ecology of the grassland.

Employees of the Environmental Protection Bureau of Sertar County told thepaper.cn that such a large-scale release has never happened there before. Since animal husbandry is a major industry in the county, there are already many herds of goats in the area. If more than 6,000 goats were released at once, many locals worried that the region would take a hit. Once winter arrives, the problem will only grow.

Sun Quanhui, a consultant with World Society for the Protection of Animals, said that the aims and reasoning behind the release were good. However, simultaneously releasing so many animals without prior scientific research could have a negative outcome.

Goats in the grassland of Sertar County, Sichuan province. (Photo from internet)

 

[ahojunk]

The cave is cool in summer but warm in winter. The couple has made it into a neat abode.

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Meet the couple who has lived in a cave in southwest China's Sichuan for 54 years
(People's Daily Online) 05:12, September 12, 2016

81-year-old Liang Zifu and his 77-year-old wife Li Suying raised their four children in a cave near Nanchong city in southwest China's Sichuan province, where the couple has been living in the past 54 years.

The couple first moved to the cave because they couldn't afford building a house for themselves in the village when they first got married. Liang then settled a place in cave for him and his wife and moved in. The cave house now has three bedrooms, one kitchen, a living room and even a pigsty.

Local authorities have been trying to persuade the couple to move out for a better place to live in, but the couple declined and said they have got accustomed to their cave house, which is cooler than outside in summer and warmer in winter.


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On a similar theme related to living in a cave, enjoy this picture joke.

 

[ahojunk]

Man avoids death penalty with unique inventions
2016-09-19 16:14Ecns.cn Editor: Mo Hong'e


(ECNS) -- A man escaped prison twice in his 20s and saved himself from the death penalty because of his inventions.

Li Hongtao, born in 1966, was a graduate student from Zhejiang University, one of China's top institutes, with a major in electronic engineering. He used his professional expertise for crimes but also saved himself at the last minute.

On April 18, 1992 Li was accused of fraud after he helped friends swindle a company out of 80,000 yuan (about $14,540 in 1992) with a fake seal, but he managed to escape from the public security bureau in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province.

He then took a train to Guiyang, capital of the neighboring Guizhou Province, and stole a car with a self-made key. On the run, he even stole a police car and drove it back to Kunming to visit his mistress several times.

Li was caught again in 1992 at the university where his mistress studied and then confessed to crimes ranging from fraud, running from police and stealing cars, which took skeptical officers more than four months to investigate.

He warned that he could make a second escape, but was ignored. Irritated, Li and two intimates dug through the walls of their detention center in Nov. 1992. But the other two intimates were immediately caught.

Three weeks later, on Dec. 8, Li was caught again, for the third time, in Liuzhou, a city in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a province neighboring Yunnan. He was then sentenced to death for crimes of fraud, escape and theft on Nov. 1, 1993.

But this time, he discovered an enthusiasm for electronic engineering, and was determined to invent a brushless excitation motor, a compenent used in power generating facilities.

Li conducted experiments in the prison with the approval of police officers. They even invited experts to solve problems he confronted.

On the day before his execution, his experiments worked, which bought him one more year to continue them and postponed his death.

In 1995, his invention of a brushless excitation motor won first prize in Yunnan province and received a patent.

Li made many other inventions in the prison and got more patents, including development of a computer-controlled prison monitoring and management system based on his escape experiences.

Li, the former criminal sentenced to death, was released in 2009.