Headlines
- Asian media ’should expand influence’
- China to dominate culture of internet, report says
- Shanghai gears up for World Expo 2010 tourism boom
- China’s animation export booms in 2009
- Han Han makes Time Magazine’s top 100 list
- Premier Wen’s interpreter makes news
- AV actress entices Chinese netizens to go on Twitter
Asian media ’should expand influence’
Asian media should increase their influence to match the growing economic clout of the continent, a top Chinese official has said.
Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a meeting with representatives of Asia News Network （ANN）, an alliance of 21 leading newspapers in Asia.
The forum was sponsored by China Daily, ANN and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, a German research foundation. It is followed by the annual meeting of the Asian news alliance scheduled for Friday. “We have to recognize that in today’s world, the Western media has gained an upper hand in terms of influencing public opinion,” Li said. As Asia’s economy continues to develop, the voices from Asian media organizations should become louder and cialis online without prescription stronger, he said, faced with more challenges and opportunities in the new era, the mainstream Asian media should move with the times and work together for the peace, cooperation and common prosperity of the Asian community. (9-4-2010 China Daily)
China to dominate culture of internet, report says
China will become the dominant cultural force influencing the look and feel of the internet, supplanting the US as the guiding light of the digital world, suggests a global study reported by the Australian, the country’s leading newspaper. Carried out in seven countries representing 48 percent of the global online population by communications firm Fleishman Hillard, the study found that the Chinese, with an average of 34 hours per week of media use, were the biggest users of the internet and email, accounting for 56 percent of all use, according to the Australian.
Despite Google withdrawing its operations from mainland China, Fleishman’s global chief executive Dave Senay told the Australian, China would have a growing influence over more established internet markets and have an impact on how the web itself is developing. Compared to other markets, he said, internet users in China were more likely to engage in all online behaviors such as research, communications, commerce and viagra pill cost publishing. “China is at the top of each and every one,” said Mr. Senay, as the Australian reported. “The traditional leaders, the UK, the US, even Germany, are laggards relative to the rest of the world, while China and India, the two most populous Asian markets would have a growing impact on the internet,” said Senay to the Australian. Senay said there were clear signs the internet has greater influence on opinion and behavior than traditional media such as television, reported the Australian, “We have seen with numbers that television viewership and internet usage are roughly equal in most of the markets we looked at, but the influence of the internet is almost double that of television as told to us by the people we interviewed.” (8-4-2010 chinadaily.com.cn)
Shanghai gears up for World Expo 2010 tourism boom
During the past weekend, crowds of locals and tourists crowded the city’s best known riverside promenade, the historic Bund, to witness its reopening and rebirth in time for the Expo. China is the first developing nation to host the World Expo and approved cialis ca officials hope the event, held from May 1-Oct 31, will improve Shanghai’s position as a global city. “We are still actively working on activities to attract 70 million visitors and we remain positive on reaching this target,” said Connie Cheng, vice director of the Shanghai Tourism Administration. Shanghai is doing its best to impress visitors with the city government already splashing out more than $700 million on renovating the Bund riverfront, as well a whopping $45 billion to upgrade transport and infrastructure.
While Shanghai is stripping hawkers and various eyesores off its streets, as Beijing did before the Olympics, the event is not targeted primarily for an international audience. Officials expect only 5 percent of their expected 70 million visitors to be from outside China. And much of their tourism promotional efforts have been targeted at the potential of China’s domestic tourists to make a trip to Shanghai for the Expo.
A convoy of “Expo caravans” have set off from Shanghai this month touring the neighboring regions and marketing the World Expo to ordinary Chinese. Officials acknowledge, however, that the showcase exhibition, complete with musical fountains from France and bratwurst sausage from Germany, will be beyond the means of many Chinese. An average one-day ticket for the Shanghai World Expo costs 160 yuan ($23.50), a princely sum to pay for the country’s low income groups. Cheng said she was targeting residents living in Shanghai’s neighboring rich coastal provinces to form the bulk of the domestic tourists. “As a whole, we have put our hopes on tourists from the neighboring Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces,” she said. “These two provinces are one of the wealthiest in China and people there can travel to Shanghai quite conveniently.”(1-4-2010 www.reuters.com)
China’s animation export booms in 2009
China’s cartoon and sale online zithromax animation exports totaled $30.57 million in 2009, a surge of 150 percent from the previous year, Xinhuanet reported Friday. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television said exports of movie and video programs soared 44.2 percent to $58.98 billion in 2009 over the previous year.  For the first time in history, exports in cartoons and animations surpassed TV series to hold the biggest share, 51.8 percent of the total, the report said. Exports in TV series were worth $20.05 million, accounting for 34 percent of the total. Exports in documentaries and variety shows reached $8.37 million, accounting for 14.2 percent of the total, according to the report. China exported 10,617.2 hours of movie and video programs in 2009, with 79 animation programs of 1,490 hours, accounting for 14 percent of the total, the report said. (12-3-2010 chinadaily.com.cn)
Han Han makes Time Magazine’s top 100 list
Han Han, a Chinese professional rally driver, best-selling author and China’s most popular blogger, has been nominated as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. On April 3, Time released the candidates for its annual “World’s Most Influential People in 2010” list. Han was on the list as well as Barack Obama, Bill Gates and Lady Gaga.
Every year, Time selects hundreds of people around the world, including the world’s greatest leaders, artists, innovators and icons, and encourages its readers to vote for the year’s list of the 100 most influential people. The weekly news magazine, which introduced Han as an author and a race car driver, said he was nominated because of his first novel Triple Gate. “Han’s first novel, based on his experience as a high school dropout in Shanghai, became a best seller in China and sparked a debate about the quality of the country’s rigid education system,” Time said on its voting page. “An avid rally car driver, he writes a mega-popular blog that pokes fun at prominent cultural figures and incompetent officials,” Time said.
By Tuesday night, Han had received 45,325 votes, making him eighth among 200 candidates, much higher than the other Chinese candidates, such as Vice-Premier Wang Qishan and Chongqing Party Secretary Bo Xilai. The top candidate was temporarily Lady Gaga, with 187,822 votes. The online voting will be closed on May 1. Han’s fans are excited about his inclusion in the list, but some people question his nomination. Some said that Han’s influence does not extend beyond China’s border and he cannot have an effect on global trends in art and entertainment. While his supporters and detractors engaged in a heated discussion, Han himself has been low-key about his nomination. “It （the nomination） has nothing to do with me. I write books and blogs to express my opinions. I’ve never thought of changing other people or the world,” he was quoted by Qilu Evening News as saying. According to the report, Han even said: “Time is only a magazine. Why do you take it so seriously？”
Han could not be reached for comment on Tuesday, but his fans take his nomination seriously. In Han’s Baidu Post Bar, an online club set up by his supporters, a post that calls people to vote for Han in the Time magazine poll has been placed at the top. “My English is not good. But here is a picture direction on how to vote. Hope it helps people like me,” it said. Lu Jinbo, a Shanghai-based publisher who has worked with Han on his books, was quoted by the Beijing Times as saying he was happy to learn the news. “Han is a young guy who dares to speak out. He cares about the people and the truth, which is quite rare among the post-80s writers （writers who came of age after the 1980s）. He is not associated with any organizations,” Lu said. However, others cast doubt on the writer’s fame. “Since when does Han have worldwide influence？ It’s too big a compliment for him,” a netizen said. “Time is really humorous. How can Han’s works and personality lead the world’s arts and entertainment trends？”, another netizen said. Wuyuesanren, a Beijing-based critic, said Han’s nomination shows people really care about China, “because Han is famous for his sharp observation and unmodified comments on social events”, he said. He praised Time’s keen observations on Chinese society for involving Han in its 100 list.
“It shows China’s importance in the world. The world is looking at China not only from the political leaders’ perspectives, but also from people like Han, a literary person who cares about social events.”( 7 -4-2010 China Daily)
Premier Wen’s interpreter makes news
(picture: Zhang Lu at Premier Wen’s press conference Sunday.SD-Agencies）
THE young woman behind the fluent English voice interpreting Premier Wen Jiabao’s remarks at a press conference Sunday in Beijing has become a hit on the Internet. Zhang Lu, the interpreter during the premier’s two-hour press conference at the end of the country’s top legislative meeting in Beijing, won tens of thousands of admirers for “being pretty and doing a fascinating job,†the Beijing Morning Post reported yesterday. The woman, in her 30s, made her first appearance before foreign media at the premier’s side at the annual session this year. From 2006 to 2009, a male translator named Fei Shengchao was assigned the task.
News about Zhang was ranked the seventh most-read news on Sina.com on Sunday, followed by Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang who took seventh place at the World Indoor Championships in Doha, the Post said. Many Chinese people rushed to search for her information and talk about her on the Internet, overwhelmed with admiration for her flawless translation of a line of a Chinese ancient poem quoted by Primer Wen, who has a reputation for using poetry and prose to make points.
“She did so well and her translation was top-notch,†Luo Lisheng, director of the English School at Qinghua University, said. It was difficult for translators to precisely interpret classical Chinese poetry in English because there was a great gap between the two cultures. “Most translators can just grasp a general idea and do the translation in a roundabout way,†Luo said. “But she did it very precisely.†Internet fans praised Zhang’s work and complemented her personal style, a short bob and elegant tailored suits, and posted an assortment of photos of Zhang at work. ( Shenzhen Daily 17-3-2010 )
AV actress entices Chinese netizens to go on Twitter
AOI Sola (also known as Sora Aoi, Sola Aoi) is a Japanese AV actress famous for her large breasts. She is also an award-winning actress who has appeared on mainstream Japanese TV as well as a Thai film. On the evening of April 11, her Twitter handle, @Aoi_Sola, was found and then passed around by the Chinese twittersphere. It caused an instant online reaction, and apparently many users trying to access the blocked Twitter website.
From the Dongguan Times: Many netizens are suspicious of the identity of Aoi Sola’s fans, because on the Chinese mainland, many netizens cannot use Twitter. “You can’t get on Twitter on the Chinese mainland, did your followers come from Hong Kong or China Taiwan?” Because Aoi Sola works in the AV industry, which is adult entertainment, it could cause harm to youngsters’ mental and physical well-being. Therefore, whether it’s Twitter or news about Aoi Sola, all information is forbidden. In order to become a follower of Aoi Sola’s Twitter from the mainland, the fan must use software for “scaling the wall.” However, for the netizens who left a message on Aoi Sola’s Twitter, many of those used simplified Chinese, so most of them were from the Chinese mainland. After Aoi Sola’s Twitter account was “discovered,” netizens claims that many Chinese people are learning to use software to “scale the wall.”
Netizens postings:
Twitter: Tonight we present Aoi Sola, are you coming?
Beichen: In the past it was Aoi Sola who made Chinese people excited, now, Chinese Twitterers are exciting Aoi Sola! Twice!
Aoi Sola answers :
Aoi Sola: Why am I being discussed and talked about by Chinese people? What happened? Please tell me.
Aoi Sola: I’m surprised.Receive many follow messages & RT from China now.aaaaaaaaahhh,I don’t know,anyway THANK YOU!! (有这么多æ¥è‡ªä¸å›½ç½‘å‹çš„留言，让我始料未åŠï¼Œæˆ‘å¾ˆæƒŠè®¶ï¼Œè°¢è°¢ä½ ä»¬ã€‚)
Aoi Sola: I use a translator in chinese. Thank you for my fans in China.（谢谢。我的ä¸å›½ç²‰ä¸ã€‚)
Aoi Sola’s original tweet was:
我使用的是翻译。谢谢。在ä¸å›½æˆ‘çš„çƒè¿·ã€‚ I use a translator in chinese. Thank you for my fans in China.
Her chosen, badly translated phase for “fan” was actually “soccer fan” (çƒè¿·), chosen from the translator that she was using, i.e.: “I am using a translator. Thanks. My soccer fans in China.” This line, of course, led to many jokes. A Chengdu news portal wrote: A netizen who calls himself “mywindson” joked: “Soccer fan was a really good choice of expression. What else apart from her “two balls” are we so enamoured with?
The last time the Chinese Internet was “excited” by a Japanese AV actress was around the time of the death of Ai Iijima (é¥å²›çˆ±). (13-4-2010 http://www.danwei.org/)
(EDITOR: Jackie Fang YIN)
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