2. 2 sundaydigest S U N D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 2 C H I NA DA I LY
around china Reforms: Li says
MACAO
27 injured in ferry collision in Macao ‘law of the market’
Twenty-seven people were injured in a ferry collision in Macao
Outer Harbor on Saturday, according to sources from the local
police authority. The passenger ship carrying 175 passengers
and eight crew members, left for Hong Kong at 12:15 am and
must be respected
knocked down a buoy about 15 minutes after departure. The
ship sailed back to the ferry after the collision. Police said FROM PAGE 1
25 of the 27 injured passengers had been sent to hospital
immediately, most with slight contusions and scratches.. Li noted the average urban Chinese resident makes
three times more than his rural cousin, and the average
HONG KONG per capita GDP in the eastern regions was almost eight
Birth policy to be strictly enforced times that of some western areas.
The Food and Health Bureau in Hong Kong reiterated on To solve this problem, he urged better urbanization,
Friday that no public hospitals will accept any bookings by non- modern agriculture, city-rural integration and the inte-
local pregnant women for delivery in Hong Kong starting Jan 1. gration of development in the regions along the Yangtze.
Pregnant women from the Chinese mainland whose husbands Li used the analogy of a traditional Chinese chess game
are Hong Kong permanent residents, and Hong Kong residents
who came on one-way permits and have made bookings at local to illustrate the importance of balanced development: “It
private hospitals for delivery in 2013, will have their identity is like a game of Go. Strategic play in the board’s corners
and marital relations subject to stringent verification, according and around the sides are vital, but the moves in the center
to the new zero-quota policy. Law enforcement agencies will are important, as well,” Li said.
increase efforts to intercept pregnant mainland women whose He also called for increased efforts to develop domes-
husbands are not Hong Kong permanent residents.
tic and foreign markets to boost demand, to maintain
the rule of law in the economy and to provide equal
BEIJING rights, equal opportunities and fair play for all market
Date fixed for top leaders’ election ICY THREAT participants.
The first annual session of the 12th National People’s PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Fair market competition will also create more jobs for
Congress will convene on March 5, during which top state the public, he said.
leaders including the country’s president will be elected. The Electricity workers brave the cold to check transformer substations and grid The vice-premier proposed the concept of “city clus-
30th meeting of the 11th NPC Standing Committee, which
concluded here on Friday, decided on a suggested agenda for lines after a blizzard in Anhui province on Saturday. In the past few days, much ters along the Yangtze River’s middle reaches”. He told
local governments to provide support in terms of trans-
the session, which will last for about two weeks. According to
the decision, the session will elect the chairperson and vice
of China has been hit by extreme weather, and emergency plans are designed regional transportation infrastructure and streamlined
chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee, as well as the to deal with the power outages and ensure continuous energy supply. job markets and social security systems, according to
country’s president and vice-president. It will also decide on the Xinhua.
list of the State Council’s premier and vice-premiers, as well as
state councilors and ministers for government departments.
To that effect, local governments must break down
The meeting will elect the chairperson of the Central Military unreasonable administrative barriers to foster a unified
market through reforms in the country’s economic system.
world briefs
Commission of the People’s Republic of China, and heads
of the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Administrative boundaries are not market territories,
Procuratorate. and local governments should shift their functions and
cast off restrictions within specific sectors and local
China to crack down on IPR violations RUSSIA authorities, Li said.
The Ministry of Public Security is planning a new nationwide Police free child hostage, kill 7 In order to secure energetic and robust development,
crackdown in 2013 to boost intellectual-property rights Russian security forces killed seven militants and freed he emphasized the importance of forming a single mar-
protection. The crackdown will focus on five crimes concerning a 6-year-old girl taken hostage in the restive Dagestan ket and ensuring free flow of market factors according
the production and sale of fake and shoddy goods, including region of Russia’s volatile North Caucasus on Saturday, a to market rules.
bogus luxury items, high-tech products, home appliances, food national anti-terrorism committee official told Interfax Several proposals by local governments were presented
and drugs, according to a statement released by the ministry on news agency. The report said that the militants in the
Friday.
to Li, including Hubei’s suggestion to dredge the Yangtze
provincial capital of Makhachkala broke through a
wall, entered an apartment and took the girl hostage.
River and Hunan’s proposal to coordinate key projects
Those killed had previously served sentences for crimes and infrastructures across provincial borders.
Beidou helps put region on the map including murder, extortion, theft and robbery, Interfax “You raised a lot of suggestions, especially to the central
The Beidou navigation system began providing services for said. government,” Li told provincial heads.
civilians in the Asia-Pacific region on Thursday. After going “Many of these suggestions are about more support
through a one-year trial operation and adding six more from the central government, but more are about asking
satellites in 2012, Beidou’s performance, is “comparable” to INDONESIA
that of the United States’ GPS, Ran Chengqi, spokesman for Foreign tourism up 5 percent the central government to grant you more autonomy.
the China Satellite Navigation Office, told a news conference Local governments should have their own initiative. The
The number of foreign holiday makers coming into
on Thursday. Beidou, which means “compass”, now has a Indonesia from January to November was up by 5 percent central government ministries should transfer their roles.
constellation of 16 navigation satellites and four experimental to more than 7.2 million people on yearly basis, an official “Reforms should respect the law of the market, because
satellites. said here. Indonesia expects 9.5 million holiday makers to market forces are irreplaceable,” he stressed.
visit the country by 2014, 1 million of which from China, Niu Fengrui, a researcher with the Institute for Urban
the country’s tourism minister told Xinhua. and Environment Studies of the Chinese Academy of
Longest bullet-train route opens
Further cementing the country’s high-speed railway Social Sciences, said urbanization, in essence, is the con-
development ambitions, the world’s longest high-speed rail line, MYANMAR centration of population and industries.
which spans over half of China, began operating on Wednesday, Suu Kyi-made sweaters sold “The concentration allows the efficient flow and func-
Running at an average speed of 300 km/h, the 2,298-km route Myanmar’s cash-strapped opposition party is tapping into tion of capital, land and human resources,” he said. “So it
cuts travel time between Beijing and Guangzhou from more than the prestige of its leader: Two sweaters hand-knit by Aung best represents modernization and the inevitable direc-
20 hours to about eight and connects 28 cities, including five San Suu Kyi have been auctioned for $123,000. A green-
provincial capitals. A total of 155 pairs of trains run on the new RAVEENDRAN / AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
tion China must take.”
and-white sweater with a floral design sold at a Friday Niu said China is in the middle of accelerating the
line daily and alternative schedules have been made for weekends night auction to an anonymous bidder for 63 million kyat, INDIA
and peak travel times, according to the Ministry of Railways, or $74,120. On Thursday, a Myanmar-based radio station process. The speeding up of urbanization would unleash
Xinhua reported. A second-class seat on the high-speed line is won a bidding war for a multicolored V-neck that fetched
Gang-rape victim dies tremendous domestic demand, notably the huge poten-
865 yuan ($139) and a first-class seat is 1,383 yuan. $49,000. Suu Kyi has not publicly reacted to the success Indian police will invoke murder charges early tial for fixed-asset investment growth.
of her party’s two-day fund raiser, but aides said she was next week against the six men who gang-raped and He estimated that in the next few years, 1,500 to 2,000
pleased with the results. brutalized the 23-year-old medical student who died
QINGHAI square kilometers of new urban area would be built
early Saturday morning in Singapore, reported Press
Mass prayer service held for peace Trust of India. The rape case has rocked India with every year. If this translates to about 1 to 2 billion yuan
More than 5,100 monks from Jyegu Monastery in a Tibetan UNITED STATES unprecedented protests by students last weekend. in fixed-asset investment per square kilometer, it means
region of Northwest China’s Qinghai province on Friday held a Toyota settlements take shape The Indian capital braced for a new wave of protests, a total of 1,500 to 4,000 billion yuan fixed-asset invest-
mass prayer service, ending a six-day gathering for world peace. closing metro stations and banning vehicles from ment per year.
A US judge gave preliminary approval on Friday to a $1 the city center district where young activists had
The monks from 74 monasteries chanted Tibetan Buddhist billion-plus settlement with Toyota Motor Corp. in cases Li Tie, head of China Center for Urban Development, a
scriptures alongside thousands of believers in a new scripture converged to demand improved women’s rights.
involving problems of sudden, unintended acceleration by The victim, severely beaten, raped and thrown out think tank under the National Development and Reform
hall built after the 2010 earthquake. The monastery has held the its vehicles, a plaintiffs’ attorney said. Toyota has said the
mass prayer service for the past 14 years around Oct 15 on the of a moving bus in New Delhi two weeks ago, had Commission, felt that the new urbanization drive will
deal, announced on Wednesday, will resolve hundreds of been flown to Singapore in a critical condition by
Tibetan calendar. lawsuits from motorists who said the value of their Toyota
focus on boosting consumption rather than investment.
the Indian government on Thursday for specialist He called for an overhaul of China’s rigid household
vehicles plummeted after recalls stemming from claims treatment.
NEWSWATCH that the Japanese automaker’s cars and trucks accelerated registration and land and social security systems to
unintentionally. Claims by people who seek compensation guarantee the migrant workers’ right to equal access to
China maintains ‘blue’ weather alert for injury and death due to sudden acceleration are not public service.
China’s National Meteorological Center on Saturday part of the settlement; the first trial involving those suits is NEWS WATCH At the forum, Li Keqiang had indicated he preferred
maintained its blue alert for blizzards and a severe cold snap scheduled for February.
during the next 24 to 48 hours. Eastern parts of Northeast Abe visits Fukushima site natural market forces to push forward the central
China’s Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, coastal areas of Newly installed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe region’s development.
Shandong province and northeastern parts of Guizhou Gay marriage law goes into effect visited the tsunami-devastated Fukushima Dai-Ichi Zhu Huasheng, associate professor of economics with
province will see heavy snowfall and possibly blizzards on Chris Kast and Byron Bartlett already consider nuclear plant on Saturday as his government reconsiders the Beijing Normal University, said it is important for
the weekend. Snow or blizzards will also hit parts of Hunan, plans to eventually phase out the use of nuclear energy.
Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. Central and
themselves married after a 2010 ceremony overlooking local governments in the central region to respect the
Portland Harbor, but now they’re doing it all over again Donning protective gear, Abe took a bus tour of the
western Guizhou will see freezing rain, the weather center plant — site of the worst nuclear accident since the
law of the market because the experience of the eastern
— planning to be among the first to get a marriage license
forecast early on Saturday morning. Along with heavy snow, now that Maine’s same-sex marriage law has taken effect. 1986 Chernobyl disaster — and greeted workers at its region showed that it is internal market forces, rather
gale winds will chill these areas over the next 48 hours, with Voters approved gay marriage in November, making emergency operations center in Okuma town on Japan’s than those the government dictates, that motivated
temperature drops of 6 to 12 degrees. Maine and two other states the first to do so by popular northeastern coast. economic success.
vote. The law is already in effect in Washington state;
CHINA DAILY — XINHUA Maryland’s takes effect on Tuesday, the first day of 2013. XINHUA — REU TERS — ASSO CIATED PRESS Xinhua contributed to this story.
SUN - MON DEC 30 - 31
weather
Ulaanbaatar CHINA CHINA C Cloudy
Urumqi -27 /-21 Beijing - 9 /- 2 S -11 /- 3 S Shanghai - 2 / 2 C -3/ 5 S D Drizzle
-21 /-10 -28 /-16 Changchun -24 /-18 Sn -27 /-18 C Shenyang -21 /-13 S -25 /-13 S Du Dust
Changsha -1/ 5 C -2/ 8 S Shenzhen 7 / 15 C 5 / 12 C F Fog
-18 /- 8 Pyongyang O Overcast
Beijing Chongqing 2/ 8 C 2 / 10 C Shijiazhuang - 7 / 1 S -9/ 0 S
R Rain
- 9 /- 2 Seoul Dalian -10 /- 6 S -10 /- 3 S Suzhou -2/ 2 C -3/ 4 S Sh Shower
Xining Fuzhou 7 / 13 Sh 5 / 12 O Taipei 11 / 13 R 7 / 13 D
-11 /- 3 - 6 /- 2
Tokyo Guangzhou 5 / 12 C 3 / 14 S Taiyuan -15 /- 3 S -13 /- 2 S
S Sunny SUNDAY TRAVELER’S FORECAST
Sn Snow MONDAY LOW/HIGH TEMPERATURES, IN DEGREES CELSIUS,
- 9 /- 5 Guilin 0/ 4 C 1/ 7 C Tianjin -10 /- 4 S -11 /- 2 S
3 / 11 St Storm
Lhasa Shanghai Guiyang -3/ 1 O -1/ 3 O Urumqi -21 /-10 S -18 /- 8 S AND EXPECTED CONDITIONS
New Kathmandu -1/ 5 4 / 10 T Thunderstorms
Delhi Chengdu -2/ 2 Haikou 12 / 16 D 9 / 17 O Wuhan -6/ 3 C -4/ 5 C
-2/ 6 ASIA-PACIFIC-MIDDLE EAST AMERICAS
Thimphu -3/ 5 Hangzhou -3/ 1 O -4/ 5 C Xiamen 8 / 16 Sh 6 / 13 C
8 / 20 Guangzhou Harbin -23 /-20 Sn -27 /-20 C Abu Dhabi 5 / 21 R 9 / 22 R BuenosAires 19 / 31 C 23 / 31 S
11 / 13 Xi’an -7/ 3 S -6/ 4 S
5 / 19 5 / 12 Taipei Hefei -6/ 2 C -5/ 6 C Xining -21 /- 2 S -20 / 1 S Bangkok 26 / 35 C 26 / 32 C Chicago -4/ 0 C - 9 /- 1 O
7 / 13 Colombo 25 / 30 C 24 / 30 C Caracas 24 / 31 C 24 / 30 C
3 / 14 Hohhot -18 /- 8 C -16 /- 9 C Yantai - 8 /- 3 Sn - 9 /- 1 Sn
20 / 35 Hong 10 / 14 Hongkong 10 / 14 C 9 / 17 C Yinchuan -15 /- 3 S -13 /- 2 S Dubai 17 / 24 S 15 / 24 S Houston 1 / 12 C 0 / 14 O
Yangon Hanoi
19 / 35 Kong 9 / 17 Jinan -10 /- 2 S -9/ 0 S Zhengzhou - 6 / 3 S -5/ 6 S Hanoi 14 / 18 O 14 / 18 O Las Vegas 1 / 10 C 1/ 9 C
Kunming 2/ 7 D 1 / 12 Sh Zhuhai 8 / 13 C 6 / 12 S Islamabad 8 / 18 S 5 / 19 S Los Angeles 10 / 15 C 9 / 14 S
26 / 35 Macao Lanzhou -15 /- 2 S -14 / 0 S Jakarta 24 / 33 O 25 / 33 O Mexico City 9 / 23 C 8 / 23 C
Manila Karachi 9 / 24 S 8 / 24 S New York -1/ 4 C -2/ 2 C
26 / 32 Bangkok Lhasa - 3 / 16 C - 3 / 14 S
Lijiang - 1 / 13 C 1 / 14 C Kuala Lumpur 25 / 32 O 25 / 32 O Ottawa -14 /-10 O -12 /- 2 C
24 / 32 25 / 31
17 / 26 Macao 10 / 14 C 7 / 17 C EUROPE Manila 25 / 31 C 25 / 31 C Rio De Janeiro 26 / 34 S 25 / 33 C
Vientiane 25 / 31 25 / 31 Mumbai 16 / 32 S 18 / 32 S San Francisco 6 / 11 C 6 / 10 C
11 / 22 Nanchang -1/ 3 C -3/ 5 S Athens 6 / 13 Sh 9 / 12 Sh
Bandar Seri Nanjing -5/ 1 C -6/ 4 S Berlin -1/ 8 O 3/ 8 C New Delhi 8 / 20 S 5 / 19 S Sao Paulo 22 / 27 O 21 / 28 Sh
25 / 32 Begawan Brussels 7 / 11 C 6 / 10 C Pyongyang - 9 /- 5 S -13 /- 9 S Vancouver 2/ 6 C 2/ 6 C
Nanning 5 / 10 O 4 / 12 O
25 / 32 Kuala Lumpur Qingdao - 7 /- 2 C - 7 /- 1 S Geneva 3/ 7 D 2/ 6 C Riyadh 10 / 21 S 10 / 23 C Washington 1/ 5 S -1/ 5 S
Sanya 19 / 25 D 16 / 23 O Istanbul 8 / 11 O 6 / 10 C Seoul - 6 /- 2 S - 9 /- 5 S
25 / 30 London 4 / 10 C 9 / 11 O Singapore 25 / 30 Sh 25 / 30 O AFRICA
Singapore Cairo 11 / 20 C 12 / 19 C
25 / 30 Madrid -1/ 7 O 1/ 9 C Sydney 19 / 22 O 19 / 28 O
Moscow - 6 /- 2 O - 7 /- 3 O Teheran 2 / 10 S 2/ 8 S CapeTown 16 / 26 O 18 / 25 C
24 / 33 Paris 7 / 11 C 7 / 11 O Tokyo 3 / 11 O 4 / 10 R Johannesburg 16 / 29 S 17 / 26 C
Jakarta Lagos 24 / 32 C 24 / 32 C
25 / 33 Rome 3 / 13 S 2 / 13 S Wellington 17 / 21 D 17 / 20 C
Vienna -3/ 4 C -3/ 5 C Yangon 20 / 35 S 19 / 35 S Nairobi 16 / 26 C 16 / 26 C
3. C H I NA DA I LY S U N D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 2 sundayprofile 3
When
THE EAST IS RED HOT
China is a prime destination for Western professionals looking to burnish their CVs,
the brave
and Erik Nilsson reports that those who stay are ideally placed in the job market. were
the first
By THOMAS HALE
thomas.hale@21stcentury.com.cn
Today, many foreigners traveling to Chi-
na have their route mapped out for them.
Well into the present day, its economy
attracts individuals with well-defined
career aspirations and a clear image in their
minds of the role China can play for them.
Earlier voyagers, however, were drawn
largely by curiosity, and, in the absence of
an obviously marked-out path, adapted to
a culture wildly different from that of today.
One such individual is Frank Hossack,
who arrived in Shanghai in 1993 to intro-
duce Chinese pop music to Western radio.
At this point, remarkably, only 800 for-
eigners lived in the city. This figure now
stands at around 210,000. For Hossack,
the landscape of early ’90s China was in
many ways incomparable with the situa-
tion today. International schools and hos-
pitals, and places to buy Western food,
were incredibly thin on the ground.
The foreign population, he says, was
mostly a spread of teachers and engineers
but also “consisted of senior members of
large companies, who were attempting to
build a presence in the Chinese market”.
PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Other than a large diplomatic presence,
Mark Henderson landed in China to work for a China-EU trade body, and his posting has allowed him to see such sights as the traditional round houses, or tulou, of Fujian province. which has remained relatively unchanged,
the situation was much the same in Beijing.
W
hile young Western people with extremely strong lan- with China are uncommon, those one-year contracts. Local health- Outside of these cities, foreigners were
professionals are guage skills and other experience who stay for the long haul are even care is comparatively low-grade rarely encountered.
flooding China to have been unable to find work, so it rarer. and expensive, while international- Beyond the demographic of busi-
build up their CVs, seems that the job market is getting “Most qualified and young (West- level care is exorbitant. And the nessmen responding to an increasingly
those already here might have rid- even tougher,” the 32-year-old says. ern) people do not tend to stay in Internet is restricted. open Chinese market, there was also a
den the wave of opportunity’s crest, “The competition is pretty fierce China for the long term,” Direct “I can’t get sick in China — it large number of people who, in Hossack’s
as the tides turn toward interna- ... a huge number of extremely well- HR Shanghai’s founding partner would bankrupt me,” Hendry words, embodied a kind of culture of “self-
tionalized local talent. educated people are looking for Michael Maeder says. says. “Being Canadian, I’m not imposed exile” — foreigners who had left
And while China has become the work here, including people with Most use China as a stepping used to having to worry about their home countries to escape something
“it” destination for qualified young family ties in China returning due stone to get better jobs back home, that. Because of that — and school or someone.
Westerners, there are reasons most to the increased opportunities. he explains. costs an insane amount of money
do not stay. “These guys combining interna- “China is now one of the most — raising a family here isn’t eco-
“More young Western talents tional experience with an appre- desired countries to have interna- nomically viable for me.”
want to come to China for experi- ciation of Chinese business culture tional experience in, and having this American Roderick Leung says
ence,” Adecco Shanghai Executive and language have a very strong on their CVs and the ability to speak career prospects aren’t enough to
Search Services director Charles hand in the job market.” Chinese will likely heighten (their) keep him in China forever. The
Gao says. Briton Paul Afshar also sees the starting salaries and job titles.” only thing that could would be a
“But the market wants more shift. He left his position as a lobby- Gao says it doesn’t really matter family — something he hopes to
localization. They don’t want any- ist in the United Kingdom to move what jobs homeward-bound young start in the next four years.
I meet so many
‘‘
one without China experience to China and become managing Westerners take in China. But China is “not an ideal” place
because it’s a challenge for the com- director of Ijustwannabuy.com. Chinese people “If a young Westerner has any for him to raise children, especially
pany. The Western guys with China “I meet so many Chinese people who are return- China experience at all, maybe 20 considering the costs of healthcare
experience, it’s very easy for them who are returning from studying ing from study- years later, they can become head and education.
to find jobs here. But it’s hard for abroad with good qualifications of a multinational. Without China Still, while young Westerners
those without.” and work experience,” he says. ing abroad with experience, it would be tough for seeking their fortunes in China will
That’s largely because of a grow- But young Westerners already good qualifica- them,” he says. perhaps find the silver spoon los-
ing number of Chinese who in the country can claim the best tions and work “Westerners should have ambi- ing its luster, those who are already
speak English and have interna- opportunities China offers. experience.” tion. It doesn’t matter what they do. here and willing to stay may have
tional experience. And as the West “Westerners who understand If they find a junior-level position, struck gold.
declines and China rises, more China are fairly rare,” says Nick PAUL AFSHAR it’s an investment.” “The ones who stay here think Frank Hossack has seen China change
MANAGING DIRECTOR, dramatically in the last two decades.
overseas Chinese are returning Wester, who came to Beijing after But there are other reasons most going home would be boring,”
IJUSTWANNABUY.COM
home. a stint in Dalian, Liaoning prov- young Westerners don’t stay. Hendry says. “They enjoy being a The exotic notion of the Far East, and
Briton Mark Henderson says he ince, in 2010. China offers no guarantees, says citizen of the world rather than of especially China, as a refuge for those flee-
was surprised to land his dream “They’re important but rare. Wester was hired to open Eleu- Clinton Hendry, who moved to their own country. All things being ing something at home has a long heritage.
job in China as a project manager They’re high-value. A lot of com- tian Technology’s China branch Beijing three years ago to become equal, I’d probably stay in Beijing In the 1920s and ’30s, around 20,000
for a China-EU trade body. But he panies are looking for someone after graduation because he already a university instructor at age 23. my whole life.” Russians — many of them Jewish — fled
believes the employment landscape who understands China — who had experience doing business in “Things could drastically change,” the newly established Soviet Union and
is changing. knows China and can tell them the country. he says. Contact the writer at settled in Shanghai.
“I’ve noticed in the past year that what to do.” Although Westerners familiar He points out that jobs tend to be erik_nilsson@chinadaily.com.cn. Today, this narrative still informs many
perceptions about foreigners in China,
even if most are now chasing success rather
than fleeing difficulties.
Future: To stay or go, that is the question
Hossack currently runs a company
based in Jiangsu’s provincial capital Nan-
jing called Sinoconnexion, which provides
a number of media and publishing services
and has also provided several internships
FROM PAGE 1 Hendry says that while he taught has offered him more than a career to students from the United Kingdom and
at his university in Canada, his job and adventure. Australia.
American Roderick Leung’s in China was his first long-term “I came to China as a young man, Crucially, and in sharp contrast to the
story demonstrates the U-turn. contract. with a girlfriend and no job,” he says. increasingly economic motivations driving
Leung has inadvertently followed “I had a lot of job experience back “When the time comes, I will foreigners in 2012, people arriving in the
the route his Chinese emigrant home, a lot of it in not particularly leave as a married father with some early ’90s, in Hossack’s experience, were
parents took to the United States good jobs,” he says, citing work as amazing experiences working and “not looking for money, but adventure”.
— but in reverse. a bartender and security guard in living here.” “I don’t think that’s the case anymore,”
“We both probably had the same Canada. Human resources companies he says. “It certainly was when I arrived.”
idea, this was going to be the next “My goal was always to be a point out coming to China is a stra- Where the vast majority of Hossack’s
big thing and we wanted to be on teacher,” he says. “The idea that a tegic move for young Westerners. acquaintances in ’90s Shanghai were
the ground when it hit,” he says. university in China wanted to hire “Over the past decade, China “extremely colorful, eccentric individuals”
But he says it was “100 percent me was perfect.” has become a portal of wealth and — products, perhaps, of the long narrative
adventure” that originally drew Briton Mark Henderson says he experience for Westerners look- of “self-imposed exile” that has contributed
him to China. had planned to put his career on ing to further their careers,” Direct to the city’s status and identity — the for-
The 27-year-old Microsoft proj- hold when he came to Beijing after HR Shanghai’s founding partner Looking for work in his field, Christopher Russell started working for eigners he meets today are different.
ect assistant says his motivations his girlfriend landed a job as an atta- Michael Maeder says. ACN Worldwide in Shanghai China. By and large, he points out, when it
have changed in the two years he che to the EU delegation to China Briton Christopher Russell, who comes to foreigners in China, they are
has lived in China. Now, they’re five years ago. works as a writer and editor for sion, though, I would have still come mystical and exotic, and I wanted “increasingly normal people”.
about 70 percent career and 30 per- “However, I quickly realized the ACN Worldwide in Shanghai, had to China.” to be the guy in the pub back home As China becomes an ever-more-pop-
cent adventure. opportunities were rather better trouble finding the kinds of jobs he Paul Afshar left his position as a with something interesting to say.” ular destination for career-builders, the
Canadian Clinton Hendry, who than I’d expected,” Henderson says. wanted back home after graduating lobbyist in the United Kingdom to But while most young West- job market is becoming more competitive.
moved to Beijing three years ago at “Compared to my hometown of in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in move to China to become manag- ern professionals will boomerang This trend has a major impact on visas,
age 23, puts it this way: “China’s like 185,000 people, the opportunities philosophy from King’s College, ing director of Ijustwannabuy.com. home with tales to regale and with and entering China is not getting easier.
the Wild West but on the other side here are exceptional.” London. China offered new opportuni- burnished CVs, some are here But the adventurous streak that drove
of the world. China has become the After two years as a university “Straight after graduation, I ties, the 28-year-old says. He vis- indefinitely. foreigners East may be in the process of
destination for the new ‘Lost Gen- instructor, he became an EU-China worked a succession of jobs that ited the country as a tourist in June “As long as the environment is being pacified by economic transitions.
eration’ to seek adventure.” Trade Project II project manager. weren’t intellectually or creatively 2011 and moved to Beijing the fol- right for me professionally and for Today, perfectly normal people flock to
He likens it to how early 20th- “I’m now happy to say I have got stimulating. lowing month. my family, then I’ll be in China,” China to pursue a career, which is supple-
century Spain lured such global the best job I’ve ever had, and it per- “There was little prospect of that It wasn’t just a career move but Wester says. mented by but not necessarily driven by
nomads as Ernest Hemingway, who fectly fits my career trajectory thus changing, or that’s how it felt,” the also a quest for excitement. adventure. But Hossack says that in the
popularized the Lost Generation far,” he says. 24-year-old says. “None of my friends were doing Contact the writers at early ’90s: “You wouldn’t have survived if
concept. But the 32-year-old says China “Even if there had been no reces- it,” he says. “China seemed almost sundayed@chinadaily.com,cn you weren’t adventurous.”
4. 4 sundaypeople S U N D A Y, D E C E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 2 C H I NA DA I LY
worldscene
British actress Kate Winslet
marries for third time
British Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet has
married for the third time, her publicist confirmed
on Thursday. The 37-year-old, best known for her
SILENCE IS LOUD
According to French mime artist Philippe Bizot, ‘The play is life, so you don’t act.’
starring role in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, mar-
ried Ned RocknRoll, a nephew of music and aviation
tycoon Richard Branson.
Chen Yingqun finds out more about the universal language of saying nothing.
P
Thousands sign petition to deport hilippe Bizot doesn’t say a word on stage and yet, us-
Piers Morgan over gun comments ing exaggerated facial expressions and body move-
More than 48,000 people have signed a petition that ments, he expresses himself perfectly. “Silence is my
they posted on the White House website demanding
that British CNN talk show host Piers Morgan be language, my music, and my song,” the 58-year-old
deported over comments he made on air about gun French mime artist says. “The art of pantomime is a
control. Morgan last week lambasted pro-gun guests
on his show, after the Dec 14 mass shooting at Sandy universal language, the language of emotion.”
Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, He has just completed his world tour dressing up as a Chinese farmer or a Boliv-
where a gunman shot dead 26 people, including 20 with a series of shows at Penghao The- ian worker, sorrow and joy are universal
children. ater, Beijing, including the performance for everyone,” he says.
Forty Years of Silence, a compilation of 13 The veteran Chinese comedian Lai
Quentin Tarantino unchains short stories depicting life’s highs and lows. Xiaosheng says he has learned a lot from
America’s tormented past In addition, he also performed Invisible watching Bizot’s work.
Bridge, The Kid II, and You and Me, with “His performances enlighten me about
Wang Xiaohuan and Zhang Jiahe, both flaws in my own performances. For exam-
students from the Central Academy of ple, he stresses expression with his eyes,
Drama in China. but when I perform, I sometimes avoid eye
“They are the very best performers in contact with the audience.”
China,” he says. “It’s really nice working Bizot says that in one show there are
with them.” about individual 15,000 scenes. If just one
Bizot dreamed of performing in China or two of these scenes fail, the show can
when he was a child and first visited the fail, so extreme concentration is needed
country in 1984. “Chinese culture is very throughout a performance.
impressive. I have been fascinated by its “The mime never pretends to do some-
painting, calligraphy and literature.” thing. Instead he devotes his strength to
Since his first visit, Bizot has brought serving the scene he is creating. If you want
his mime act to the country every two or to tell the audience there is a cup in your
three years. In 2005 he combined the arts hand, you have to feel that cup yourself.”
of mime and Kunqu Opera for a perfor- When mime actors begin, they often
mance with Chinese artistes. panic and add unnecessary aspects to their
“Kunqu movement is really delicate, and performance, he says. A perfect mime is
the combination of the two arts was quite not acting, but transforming into the char-
pleasant,” he says. acters and living within their contexts. The
Bizot’s fascination with mime began secret to achieving that ability is constant
when he was 8. He was later mentored practice, four or five hours a day.
and encouraged by Jean-Louis Barrault. At “The play is life, so you don’t act; you live
Twenty years after Quentin Tarantino unveiled his 18 he took to the stage for the first time to in the life. You have to gradually adopt the
first film Reservoir Dogs, the director has turned great acclaim, and at 20 he won the Inter- images and characteristics of people’s faces,
his eye to America’s slavery history, spinning a national Mime Golden Award. hands and so on into your own mind.”
blood-filled retribution tale in his trademark style As he travels, he observes people, watch- Zeng Nuola, 26, a movie director, says
for Django Unchained. Tarantino, 49, has become ing their movements and recording inter- she admires Bizot’s ability to express emo-
synonymous with violence and dark humor, taking esting situations that can inspire him for a tions without words. PHOTOS BY JIANG DONG / CHINA DAILY
on the Nazis in Inglourious Basterds and mobsters in new performance. “He has a very strong and special under- For French mime artist Philippe Bizot, exaggerated facial expressions and body
Pulp Fiction. Bizot is particularly happy to see people standing of body language and silence, movements are his second language.
with speaking and hearing difficulties in which is helpful for my own directing.”
Fracking culture war stirs up his audiences. He studies their use of body Apart from performing, Bizot has
language in different countries and adopts founded academies of mime in Bordeaux,
Hollywood and its celebrities this into his work. Marseille, Bolivia, Lebanon, Pakistan and
Not so long ago, fracking was a technical term little For example, his mime for sun is taken the US, which have taught thousands of
known beyond the energy industry. Now it’s coming from Indian sign language. He believes students.
to Hollywood, as the fierce battle between environ- they have a profound understanding and Between performances he has also
mentalists and oil firms is played out in several forth- appreciation of mime. found time to run several mime work-
coming films. Hydraulic fracturing, the controversial “People who have listening and speak- shops in Beijing.
drilling technique also known as fracking, has lifted ing problems have the same rights to enjoy He You, 24, an architectural designer,
US energy output dramatically, despite warnings the charms of art,” he says. “But there are found Bizot’s workshop thought-provok-
from critics who fear it pollutes water deep under- not many theaters open to them, so I want ing. “He attaches great importance to life
ground. them to feel the beauty of art in my theater.” and nature and encourages us to mimic
His mimes include characters from all and experience life.”
Elvis Presley, The Beatles top sections of society: the shy lover, the lov- Despite the passion that Bizot and his
list of most-forged autographs ing father, and the naughty student among audience have for mime, it remains an
Elvis Presley and The Beatles top the list of most- them. art form that few practice. Bizot’s ambi-
forged celebrity signatures in 2012, with less than half “My art comes from my audience, so I tion is to keep mime alive by forming a
of their autographs for sale certified as genuine, mem- want to reward them 10 times over with mime company with top performers from
orabilia authenticators PSA/DNA said on Thursday. my mime. I can be a man, a woman, a bird around the world.
The King and The Fab Four British rockers, who or a dog after I have dressed up. I become a
topped the list two years ago when it was last released, mirror for people and reflect their feelings. Contact the writer at Students from the Central Academy of Drama join Bizot on stage for some of his
joined notable figures such as former US President No matter whether I’m in Africa or France, chenyingqun@chinadaily.com.cn. performances at Penghao Theater in Beijing.
John F. Kennedy and late pop star Michael Jackson on
the list of most-forged celebrity signatures.
The Hobbit tops US box
office chart for a second week Painter shows his class in Tibetan village
By HUANG ZHILING in Chengdu
huangzhiling@chinadaily.com.cn
A group of women and children gather
in a remote village square in Shiqu coun-
ty, Sichuan’s Garze Tibetan autonomous
prefecture.
The children all have books in their
hands, which arouses the attention of
artist Wang Qijun.
The 58-year-old professor of the Bei-
jing-based China Central Academy of
Fine Arts follows the kids into a temple
as they sit in front of a Buddha statue,
attended by a lama in a red robe.
Director Peter Jackson’s return to Middle Earth took Preoccupied with their studies the stu-
$36.7m last weekend, dwarfing its competition, dents ignore him as the sunlight streams
according to the BBC. It easily beat Tom Cruise’s lat- in through a window and inspires Wang
est action movie, Jack Reacher, which came second to paint, Tibetan Class in the Village.
with $15.6 million. But a drop-off in The Hobbit’s The painting is one of many Wang
takings, down from $84.8 m last week, suggests it has done in the wake of his trip to the
will struggle to match the success of the final Lord of Tibetan-inhabited areas of Sichuan in
The Rings film. The Return of the King made $1.2 b December 2011.
worldwide after its release in 2003. At the time, it was Together with Tian Haipeng, vice pres-
the second highest-grossing film ever, although it has ident of the CCAFA, Wang led a delega-
PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
since been overtaken by the likes of Avatar and Harry Professor Wang Qijun (right) of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts shows how life has improved in Sichuan’s Tibetan areas.
tion of painters from the academy for a
Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2. week-long trip to the area, where they the warmth of maternal love and did the could not speak Tibetan, I had to wait 2011. Herdsmen had fixed up their resi-
visited Tibetan villages and talked to local oil painting Heart Filled with Love.” patiently and we had no water to drink,” dences and they all had TV sets and cell
Ministry and Rigor Mortis art students. This was not Wang’s first visit to Tibet- Wang recalls. phones, Wang says.
guitarist dies on stage at 47 Situated on the plateau 3,000 to 4,000 an-inhabited areas: “I visited as a painter When he visited a farming area in He says that when he visited a Ganbao
Mike Scaccia was performing onstage at the Rail meters above sea level, Sichuan’s Tibetan for the first time in 1985. That year, I went southern Tibet in 1997, Wang could read- Tibetan village square in Lixian county,
Club in Fort Worth, Texas, as part of a 50th birthday areas used to be poor but have improved through Gansu and Qinghai provinces to ily appreciate all the changes taking place. Sichuan’s Aba Tibetan and Qiang autono-
celebration for Rigor Mortis singer Bruce Corbitt, economically in recent years, which is enter Tibet.” “Many Tibetan children attended mous prefecture, locals were celebrating
when he collapsed, according to MSN.com. Shortly reflected in Wang’s oil paintings. Roads were inaccessible and the long- schools in big cities like Beijing and the Tibetan New Year.
afterwards, he was taken to a hospital, where he was Walking on a country road in Ma’nai distance bus could travel only about 200 Shanghai. The State paid for their educa- “When I chatted with an old Tibetan
pronounced dead. Scaccia was born in Babylon, New village, Jinchuan, Wang sees a young km in a single day. tion. When I talked with their parents, woman, her son called from outside their
York, on July 14, 1965, and formed thrash metallists mother carrying her child and walking “When we were near Qinghai Lake, the children could speak fluent Mandarin hometown.
Rigor Mortis in 1983. Six years later, the guitarist was under the sun. 3,300 meters above sea level, the bus and interpret for us,” he says. “I instantly felt what a happy life meant.
invited by Al Jourgensen to join Ministry. “The intense sunlight turned the moth- broke down. The Tibetan driver spent He saw further improvements in living It became the inspiration for the oil paint-
REUTERS er and child into glowing colors and I felt more than five hours repairing it. As I standards during his visit in December ing Message of Spring,” Wang says.
