Headlines

• Global press freedom eroded in 2009: survey
• China has 18.08 mln 3G users
• 2010 China BO could reach almost $1.5 bil
• What’s worse than Hollywood is ‘Hollywoodization’
• Surviving Henan TV’s dating reality show

Global press freedom eroded in 2009: survey

Global press freedom deteriorated last year as political turmoil or drug violence engulfed emerging democracies like Thailand and kamagra sans ordonnance italie Mexico and authoritarian China and Russia tightened controls, a U.S. annual survey said on Thursday.

Freedom House, which has been conducting such polls since 1980, said 2009 marked the eighth-straight year of deterioration of media freedom, with setbacks in nearly every region creating a situation in which only one of six people in the world live in countries with a free press. “While there were some positive developments, particularly in South Asia, significant declines were recorded in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East,” said Freedom House, a watchdog group funded by private and Western government donations. Behind the declines, the worst since 1996, was strife in a number of countries that threatened independent reporting, including drug wars in Mexico; political coups in Honduras, Guinea and Niger; and political strife in Thailand, it said.

With China, Russia and Venezuela boosting already strong controls on media, Freedom House said “the year was notable for intensified efforts by authoritarian regimes to place restrictions on all conduits for news and information.” “The Chinese regime has become a world leader in the development of new and rx generic levitra gb more sophisticated methods of information control,” said the report, compiled before the U.S. search engine Google Corp quit the China market in a dispute over censorship.

BLEAKEST IN AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST

Russia’s situation faltered, the report said, “as legal protections are routinely ignored, the judicial system grows more subservient to the executive branch, reporters face severe repercussions for reporting on sensitive issues, most attacks on journalists go unpunished, and media ownership is brought firmly under the control of the state.” Freedom House also warned of “globalization of censorship” because some methods of control have crossed borders.

Beijing pressed overseas film festivals and book fairs to ban appearances or works by China’s critics and Islamic nations have united to try to restrict speech by including antiblasphemy codes in international human rights law, it said. In a practice it called “libel tourism,” foreign business and political figures used Britain’s expansive libel laws to quash critical research or commentary by journalists and scholars, the report said. Of the 196 countries and territories assessed in 2009, 69 were rated Free, 64 were rated Partly Free, and 63 were rated Not Free.

By country, the “worst of the worst” in 2009, with minimal or nonexistent media freedom were Belarus, Burma, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, the survey said. The bleakest region for media freedom was North Africa and the Middle East, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa and the non-Baltic nations of the former Soviet Union, it said.

Although North America and cenforce kaufen ohne rezept Western Europe contained the greatest concentration of countries with free media, Freedom House rapped Britain for expansive libel laws used to stifle criticism and said the United States lacked federal protection-of-sources legislation, while media diversity was threatened by the news industry’s economic troubles.

Italy was rated only “partly free” as a result of government interference with state broadcasters’ editorial policies and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s clash with media outlets over coverage of his personal life, the watchdog group said. （http://www.reuters.com/article/）

China has 18.08 mln 3G users

The number of China’s 3G mobile telecommunication users reached 18.08 million in March, an increase of 4.83 million from the first quarter, said a senior official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) Thursday. China Mobile took the biggest 3G market share at 42.5 percent, followed by China Telecom at 30.8 percent and China Unicom at 26.7 percent, Zhu Jun, deputy director of the ministry’s telecom development department, told a press conference.

The three giant telecommunication operators had invested 6 billion yuan (878.9 million U.S. dollars) in 3G network construction in the first three months, out of the total 95 billion yuan planned for the year, said Xin Guobin, director of the ministry’s Performance Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

The ministry said earlier this month that China aimed to have 150 million 3G mobile telecommunication users by 2011 when investment in 3G development would hit 400 billion yuan. Zhu said at the conference that the Internet industry in China had been expanding and boosting social and acheter kamagra 50mg suisse economic development. The number of Internet users rose by about 20 million in the first quarter to hit 404 million in March, Zhu said. China had 191 million subscribers to the country’s social networking sites in March. By the end of 2009, China had 3.23 million domestic websites, said Zhu. （22-04-2010 http://news.xinhuanet.com）

2010 China BO could reach almost $1.5 bil

China’s 2010 boxoffice gross could exceed 10 billion yuan ($1.47 billion), jumping 61% this year, according to one of the country’s top industry regulators, state-run media reported. La Peikang, a deputy director of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, made the forecast on Saturday, the May 1 Labor Day holiday, one of the busiest movie-going weekends in the year, while speaking at an animated films forum in the eastern city of Hangzhou, the Xinhua News Agency said.

As the number of movie theaters quintupled from 2003-2009 to more than 5,000 to meet growing demand for entertainment among China’s burgeoning middle class, China’s boxoffice gross surged to 6.2 billion yuan ($909 million) last year, up from less than 1 billion yuan in 2003. In 2009, films made in China took home a 56.6% share of the gross, while the rest was dominated by Hollywood films such as “Transformers II” and “2012.” This year’s boxoffice got off to a big start with Hollywood’s 3D blockbuster “Avatar,” which grossed a record 1.3 billion yuan ($190 million dollars) in China at the beginning of the year, according to the film’s distributor, the China Film Group Corp. In the second half of the year, a raft of big Chinese-language films will premiere, including, in July, director Feng Xiaogang’s “Aftershock” from Huayi Brothers Media, will compete with Hollywood imports such as the latest “Harry Potter” film. （02-05-2010 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/）

What’s worse than Hollywood is ‘Hollywoodization’

“Hollywood blockbusters have invaded the cities and taken over all around the globe, with the only market left being China’s, once the line of defense is broken, then it will push straight through, and affect China’s film industry as a whole.” Yesterday, the deputy head of SARFT, Mao Yu (毛羽) expressed conscious unhappiness at the 2010 Beijing Municipal Working Conference on Cinema. He said that the eyeballs of Chinese audiences have already been “taken hostage” by Hollywood blockbusters. The World Trade Organization ruling last year will also help more Hollywood blockbusters enter the Chinese market: “We are still evaluating the ruling, but the call of the “counterattack” of domestically produced films has been sounded, and we already have some “mandatory quotas.”

In 1994, Hollywood films finally entered the Chinese film market － the first film to be imported and distributed on the mainland was The Fugitive, and after this 10 films were imported every year. In 2001, the WTO ruling made the standard 20. At the moment only two companies are allowed to distribute imported films: China Film Group (中影集团) and Huaxia Film Distribution Co. Ltd (华夏电影发行有限公司). For Hollywood movies, the entrance requirements are very high, and the channels very narrow. But still, last year the WTO decided that these limitations of US films in China broke world trade regulations, which means that there will be an increase of imported Hollywood films, which will be distributed through other channels. Hollywood film companies may even start distributing their own films in China.

Is the wolf really coming? Yesterday, the deputy head of SARFT Mao Yu’s warning predicts this threat: “Perhaps many people think that with more Hollywood blockbusters entering Chinese cinemas there’ll be more cinematic enjoyment, and that it’s a good thing. But things aren’t that simple; there is a potential danger.” Mao Yu elaborates that at present, any foreign film that wants to enter the Chinese market needs to go through a process with China Film or Huaxia. The distribution at the box office for Hollywood blockbusters is only 13% － 15%, because they have no other channels of directing films into China. But if the quota is opened for imported films, the “monopoly” of China Film and Huaxia will end, then Hollywood films will take 60% or even 70% － this is already the “example” for Hollywood in other countries. The consequence will seriously affect the rewards of the investment made by Chinese cinema itself, so that the good cycle of sustained development of the Chinese film industry will be harmed.

Apart from this, what worries Mao Yu is the “Hollywoodization” of Chinese tastes: “The way that Hollywood makes money is to use significant technological methods to create a shock to the senses, in this strain they made Avatar, of which the box office reached 1.3 billion yuan in China. Some say that Avatar can only be made once every 10 years, but currently in the cinemas, 3D movies haven’t stopped being made. Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans and other big Hollywood movies used 3D technology have ‘captured’ Chinese people’s eyeballs. For China, whose technological standards are not yet that high, this is a huge shock.”

In order to feel safe, Chinese films have to be “strong,” from what we can see now, domestically produced films isn’t lacking in opportunities. In 2009 box offices in all the cities came to 6.206 billion yuan, the growth rate equaled to four times, growth in Chinese domestic films were the most obvious, taking 56.6% of the total, making more than 3.5 billion, and has made more than imported films in the last 7 years.

Yesterday, Mao Yu emphasized the Guidelines of the General Office of the State Council on Promoting the Prosperous Development of Movie Industry (关于促进电影产业繁荣发展的指导意见, from January 2010) and revealed the plans that were made, which was to promote the development of Chinese film: “For example, in future the production of Chinese films will continue to be around 500 in number every year, and one third will be shown in a mainstream way, and every year 50 films will be both good and popular.” Apart from this, China will also promote the use of 3D technology: “In the next five years, China will increase its large-scale film production bases, in order to bring about China’s digital revolution.” Mao Yu said that he hoped China’s films will actively attack and move itself out of China, “Chinese films need to create international influence: we will dub 100 domestic films and organize shows of Chinese film in 40 or 50 countries, with the number reaching 400 or 500.”

As for whether domestic films are still under protection? This reporter saw this line the Guidelines of the General Office of the State Council on Promoting the Prosperous Development of Movie Industry: “Cinemas will seriously ensure that two thirds of films which are shown will be domestically made.” (28-4-2010 http://www.danwei.org)

Surviving Henan TV’s dating reality show

This article was contributed by Matt Cool. Matt Cool has been living in Zhengzhou teaching and studying Chinese in his spare time for two years. You can watch Matt loose his dignity on Fei Cheng Wu Rao (非诚勿扰) on Henan TV.

It wasn’t until I was standing in front of the cameras in a wrestling fatigue doing muscle poses that I realized I had yet again bit off more than I could chew in China. How does this happen? Miscommunication? Ignorance? A desire to see foreigners looking foolish on Chinese TV? As I went through the muscle poses and performed a near flawless worm on the floor, I thought back to the many times my expat friends and I had been duped in China: the trip to the mountain, the basketball game, my PSB forced confession… the list goes on. As I stood holding the 1000 yuan prize, I knew that this was going to be the basketball game all over again. Even with prior experience in the Chinese unexpected, I was not prepared for Henan reality TV.

About a week before I got onto the show, a friend told me a TV station was looking for a foreigner to be thrown into a dating show and ‘mix things up a bit’. Having had a few friends do TV spots before and having no concern about my reputation, humiliation, or face, I agreed to do it. Knowing full well that I had no idea what I was getting myself into, I waited for more information. Finally, a dinner had been arranged to discuss the details of my role.

The conversation that night went something like this:

Me: So… What exactly do I have to do?

Cute Producer Girl: You have to live in a mansion with 4 other guys and 5 girls and do competitions.

Me: Haha. Great! (Thinking Big Brother, Real World) Ok, so how long will this take?

Cute Producer Girl: 6 days

Me: Whoa, 6 days?!?! How many episodes are we talking about here?

Cute Producer Girl: 8 episodes

Me: huh… ok. So when do we start

Cute Producer Girl: Tomorrow at 6AM

Me: Wha??

Cute Producer Girl: (giggles)

For the next six days, I was subjected to late night testimonials, cheesy competitions, and reality TV drama. Often there were times when I was told directly what to say but I did get some freedom to create my own reality TV persona. Many of the competitions were rigged. About half the cast thought it was real and about half were actors or spies from other networks1, eager to steal the shows concept (a generic bacheloresque reality TV show).

The competitions ranged from laser tag and ice hockey to theater and charades. In one competition, I was to try to win the approval of a girl’s mother. The mother was actually an actress hired to reject anything I did. No matter what I did during that competition to try to win her approval, I was met with the words: “我就不喜欢外国人!” (I just don’t like foreigners).

The show ended with a final ‘romantic date’ where I ‘serenaded’ one of the girls with a guitar, candlelight, and a bottle of wine. I was instructed to tell her that I was happy to have found her, she was my one true love, and we should run away together and let the others battle it out. Her reply? She told me to play something on guitar and then awkwardly sang an unrelated song back to me. It truly was a beautiful moment.

A happy ending right? I wish I could say so. Following my brush with Henan reality stardom, I returned to my work as a computer teacher. That’s where all the trouble began.

I had a feeling it would be impossible to keep my students in the dark about their famous teacher and eventually they found out about the show when it first aired March of 2010. The students decided it would be funny to start a message board/fan club dedicated to me and my performance on the show. After hundreds of joke postings over praising my performance on the show, I got a phone call.

Cute Producer Girl: Due to your popularity on Internet forums, the Orient Today (东方今报) would like to interview you.

Me: Really?? That’s funny. I’ll have to think about it but I can’t see why not.

I thought about it. The truth was I felt bad about lying to the girl on the show. She apparently thought the whole thing was real. What a great opportunity for me to expose the show for being fake and clear my name.

Me: I’ll do it.

Big mistake. When the article came out, next to a picture of me the headline read: 我很坏我就来玩 (I’m very naughty, I just came to play). The newspaper published all sorts of interesting facts I never knew about myself. They simply made up a lot like I ‘came to China because the job market was tough in America’. I was also ‘part of a Sino-American exchange program as a student’. I didn’t mind some of the inaccuracies (they said I was 26 years old, I’m 25) but falsities that play into stereotypes Chinese people have about Americans bothered me. They portrayed me as a playboy and called me a typical American in the article.

Some Chinese friends advised me to do nothing; others told me I should sue the newspaper. They all agreed the article did not reflect well on me. So much for exposing the show as a fake… The article also failed to mention the other people paid to act on the show or the ‘spy’, which I felt would make a good news story.

In the end I was paid less than half of what I had previously been worked out with Not-So-Cute-Anymore Producer Girl in our verbal agreement. (after taxes about 1,600 yuan). Lessons learned. I survived Henan reality TV. （04-05-2010 http://www.danwei.org/tv/）

(EDITOR: Jackie Fang YIN)

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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 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 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 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 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!! (有这么多来自中国网友的留言，让我始料未及，我很惊讶，谢谢你们。)

Aoi Sola: I use a translator in chinese. Thank you for my fans in China.（谢谢。我的中国粉丝。)

Aoi Sola’s original tweet was:

我使用的是翻译。谢谢。在中国我的球迷。 I use a translator in chinese. Thank you for my fans in China.

Her chosen, badly translated phase for “fan” was actually “soccer fan” (球迷), 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 (饭岛爱). (13-4-2010 http://www.danwei.org/)

(EDITOR: Jackie Fang YIN)

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China’s Soft Power

A Conference organised by the China Media Centre at the University of Westminster with the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication of China Renmin University

309 Regent Street, London W1 UK

April 8th and 9th 2010

The dramatic economic growth in China has meant a renewed international influence.  President Obama’s recent visit, and the effective establishment of the “G2,” marked international recognition of the fact that China is, today, a central actor in the world economy.  Historically, economic power has always been accompanied by increasing international cultural influence – soccer, Hollywood and karaoke are just some of the things bequeathed by other big economies to the rest of the world.  It is certain that China’s economic stature will also be reflected in the diffusion of Chinese culture.

This reality is already recognised by many in China and outside.  The Chinese government has a “going abroad” strategy, aiming to make the Chinese language, Chinese culture, and the Chinese media more visible internationally.  At the same time, broadcasters who were once content to buy programmes and copy western models are today planning to enter the international market place as sellers of their own products.  This conference will address the current and future state of China’s “soft power.” Read more →

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