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NZCFS Wellington Branch July 2014 Newsletter

NEXT BRANCH MEETING
Sunday, 20 July 2014, at 2.30pm
Artist John Lake will speak on Chinese Punk Culture, from his experiences in Beijing

John Lake, artistIn 2013, Wellington photographer John Lake was selected to participate in the Wellington Asia Residency Exchange (WARE), which is a collaboration project between the Asia New Zealand Foundation and the Wellington City Council. John travelled to China to learn more about the punk culture in the country, and make comparisons with the New Zealand scene. Over three months in Beijing, John worked on Up The Punks, a project exploring the similarities and differences between punk culture between the two countries, to reinterpret a punk ethos utilising traditional and contemporary networks or communication and production. Beijing Punk
On Sunday, John will share his experiences in Beijing and his findings from his project. He will highlight the various events and festivals he performed and attended in China, as well as his work since returning to New Zealand. Through his time in Beijing, John has learnt more about the ideas of culture and identity, and has been involved in Up The Punks exhibitions in Wellington. We are looking forward to this presentation by John, and hope that you can join us in welcoming him.
location of Connolly Hall
Connolly Hall, Guildford Terrace, off Hill Street, Thorndon, Wellington (see map)
(Car park up Guildford Tce beside Hall)
Followed by Afternoon Tea, gold coin donation appreciated

MEETING DATES FOR REST OF 2014
The dates Connolly Hall has been booked for monthly meetings this year are 20 August, 17 September, 15 October and 19 November.

ALSO COMING UP THIS MONTH
Until 26 July         East meets West art exhibition, St James Theatre
11 July, 6-8.30pm    NZCFS Futures Group quiz night
24 July, 7.15pm     Chinese Film: Flowery March, 101 Wakefield St
26 July, 3.15 pm     Mandarin Corner, 20 Kelburn Parade
27 July, 8.15pm     Black Coal, Thin Ice (2014), International Film Festival, Paramount Cinema

REPORT FROM LAST MEETING (from Kirk McDowall)John McKinnon
On the 22nd June 2014, the Wellington branch of the New Zealand China Friendship Society (NZCFS) welcomed John McKinnon, current Executive Director of the Asia New Zealand Foundation (ANZF) and past and future Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, to our well attended monthly meeting at Connolly Hall. Wellington branch President Mr. Michael Powles warmly welcomed and thanked John McKinnon for giving a speech on behalf of the ANZF for the NZCFS Branch.
John began his speech with a brief introduction into the ANZF.  It was formed in 1994 and is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation that partners with a number of organisations that focus on Asia, and does have significant involvement with China.  The ANZF concentrates its work on four key aspects to achieve its vision; raising awareness and knowledge in the public, offshore organisations, with opinion leaders in the region and with local schools. This can break through the pre-existing stereotypes that exist between New Zealand and Asia, which can lead to a greater and richer understanding of each other.
The Foundation has been involved in organising Lantern Festivals in Auckland and Christchurch to showcase traditional and contemporary Chinese culture for the wider public. In the past, this has also involved performances from popular Chinese rock bands, notably Askar Grey Wolf and Hanggai in 2010 and Tang Dynasty in 2014. In 2014, it is the 20th Anniversary of the ANZF, and to celebrate, the Foundation will be hosting a conference on the 21st-22nd July 2014 in Christchurch.  In attendance will be Li Xiaolin, the current President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC).
John McKinnon also discussed the importance of exchanges between China and New Zealand, with an aim to strengthen understanding and awareness between the two countries. Since 2002, the ANZF has been involved with an exchange programme with Shanghai Daily, sending journalists between New Zealand and China to work for a period of time. The Foundation is also involved in the Wellington Asia Residency Exchange, which sends artists between the two countries. In 2013, Wellington photographer John Lake went to Beijing, and will be giving a presentation about his time in China at the next Wellington Branch meeting.
The ANZF recognises the importance of education and raising cultural awareness in schools throughout New Zealand. They support the Confucius Institute that gives Chinese language teaching assistants the opportunity to teach in New Zealand schools, which has helped to raise the quantity and quality of young Chinese learners. In addition, secondary schools heads of departments travelled to Shanghai to be part of the Shanghai Forum for Teachers, which focused on deepening their understanding of China, which can then be incorporated into their teaching.
The ANZF has a strong Leadership Network, which has approximately 250-300 members aged 25 to 39 years old, who are given the opportunity to network, gain and share experiences in Asia, through functions, dialogues and internships. Approximately 22 percent of members had lived in China for at least six months, while approximately 29 percent can speak Mandarin.
Questions for John included the role of the media in New Zealand on China, the involvement of the ANZF’s alumni and the wider influence of the Foundation. John expressed that although it is difficult to know how much of an influence the ANZF, as well as similar organisations such as the NZCFS, have in the wider public, he believes they play a key role in raising knowledge, understanding and interaction between China and New Zealand, and this is invaluable to a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected and globalised. He concluded by thanking the Society for giving him the opportunity to speak.

NZCFS CHINA ART TOUR OCTOBER 2014China Arts Tour
This tour will appeal to artists as well as those who are interested in gaining a deeper understanding of Chinese culture through its artistic traditions – which will include painting, calligraphy, opera, architecture and traditional garden design.
China Arts Tour is a unique non-commercial tour that will start in Beijing and also visit the cities of Xian, Shanghai and Suzhou.  It will also include iconic tourist sites: architecture – from the Great Wall to the iconic cantilevered CCTV building and Olympic Birds nest; in Shanghai state of the art international award-winning buildings, the Bund, old French quarter; the Terracotta Army in Xi’an; the classic gardens in Suzhou. To register your interest or for more information go to nzchinasociety.org.nz/16098/nzcfs-china-arts-tour-october-2014/

STOP PRESS – Passing of Dave Feickert, Whanganui Branch PresidentDave Feickert, NZCFS
Message just received from National President Dave Bromwich:
Sadly, I am writing to inform you that Dave Feickert passed away on 2 July. He was a tremendous supporter of NZCFS, and a great friend of China. We will all miss his cheerfulness, his clarity of mind and the strength and courage he has shown us all in the last several years.

NEW ZEALAND CHINA FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY FUTURES GROUP
New Zealand China Council Future Leaders
On Wednesday 18 June, Jack Irvine attended the New Zealand China Council (NZCC) Future Leader’s meeting. This meeting was held with youth members of the NZCC, Asia New Zealand Foundation, New Zealand Chinese Association and New Zealand China Trade Association. The purpose of this meeting was to connect youth members of these organisations, as well as to have youth representation on the NZCC Advisory Board. In addition, this will involve the NZCFS Youth Group working closely with these organisations to promote events and activities related to bringing China and New Zealand closer.
NZCFS Youth Website
The NZCFS Youth Website is now available and you can visit the site at www.nzcfsyouth.org. The site contains articles from members of the NZCFS, showing their experiences from New Zealand and China, as well as information and events. This site will be running in conjunction with the main NZCFS website. If you would like to add an article to the website, feel free to contact Faye or Kirk ([email protected]).  Make sure to check out the Facebook page as well, www.facebook.com/NZCFSWellington, to learn more about this group.
Future activities
The NZCFS Youth Group has a number of activities planned for the future. These include attending films during the International Film Festival, organising Chinese cooking classes, additional quiz nights, yum cha nights, and going out for dinner. More information will be available on the websites and contact Faye or Kirk if you would like to be involved.

CHINESE FILM 中国电影  – Thursday 24 July 2014, 7.15pm
Movie - Flowery MarchVenue: Committee Room One, Wellington City Council, 101 Wakefield Street. Gold coin donation. With support from Confucius Institute, Victoria University of Wellington
烟花三月Flowery March (95 minutes, 2006)
Director: 曾晓欣 Zeng Xiaoxin Cast: 刘涛Tao Liu, 张洪睿Zhang Hongrui, 楚轶男Chu Yinan
Listed as one of the 10 Chinese Cuisine Movies for Foodies, Flowery March tells a modern story happening in a century-old famous restaurant in Yangzhou City “The Misty Rain Building”. Boss of the restaurant Uncle Xu enjoys a good reputation, his granddaughter Xu Lijie comes back from the US after finishing her studies. In the influential cook-off, the “Gathering of Famous Restaurants”, Jiang Shan, a cook from Beijing, defeats three other famous chefs.

MANDARIN CORNER 汉语角 3.15pm – 4.30pm on Saturdays during school terms
Mandarin Corner_speech bubbles_v3Seminar Room, 20 Kelburn Parade, Victoria University of Wellington.
The Confucius Institute has available a team of Mandarin Language Assistants and other resources which will greatly benefit Mandarin Corner. NZCFS Wellington and NZ Chinese Language Association Wellington are partners. If you wish to improve your Chinese language skill, share your China experiences or talk to someone who has been or lived there, this is a great place to go.  To find out more, please do not hesitate to contact Cici(孔璟瑗)[email protected] 欢迎大家!
Bonus: Snacks and drinks are provided.

SUBSCRIPTION RENEWAL REMINDER
Please remember that 2014 membership subscriptions renewals are now due.  We will endeavour to contact any members who have not yet renewed.

NEW MEMBERS – The NZCFS Wellington Branch welcomes Yumei Li & Yunlong Shi and Chen Yining & Wei Ren as new members to the organisation.

EAST MEETS WEST: A CULUTRAL EXCHANGE THROUGH ARTEast Meets West exhibition
Two renowned artists will have an art exhibition together in Wellington. Dutch born New Zealander Gerda Leenards and Chinese painter Yang Songge will come together to present their work at the East meets West exhibition at the St James Theatre. This will include a collection of Yang Songge’s Chinese paintings, which features New Zealand landscapes that were sketched on his trip to New Zealand in September 2013, at the invitation of the New Zealand China Friendship Society.
Having travelled from the North through to the South Island, Songge stayed for more than a month in New Zealand, completing hundreds of sketches. In the six months following his return to China, he poured all his efforts into re-working these sketches, resulting in 60 original Chinese paintings depicting New Zealand’s beautiful landscapes.
Gerda Leenards is a Wellington based, Dutch born painter who has exhibited widely in New Zealand and internationally since 1982. Spanning the Subantartic Islands, Fiordland, the River Waal in Holland, Wellington Heads and most recently the Li River Region in Southern China, Leenard’s paintings are an extended enquiry into how we register landscape.
East meets West will be showing at St James Theatre from Friday 27 June to Saturday 26 July.

NURSE ISOBEL THOMPSON: THE PASSING OF A QUIET NEW ZEALAND LEGEND
Isobel Thompson, NZCFSThere was standing room only when Auckland members said farewell to Isobel Thompson who died over Queen’s Birthday weekend in her 94th year. Her obituary is on the society webpage at nzchinasociety.org.nz/16784/obituary-of-isobel-easton-thompson-18-march-1921-2-june-2014/.  Isobel worked for CORSO from 1947-50 during China’s brutal civil war, helping orphaned children.  She was there because of an appeal to NZ from Madame Sun Yat-sen for qualified staff to work in the Peace Hospitals.
You can listen to Radio NZ presenter Lynda Chanwai-Earle’s broadcast at www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/nz-society/20140625.  Lynda hears from the Consul General of China and broadcaster George Andrews about why Nurse Isobel Thompson is considered a household name in China.
The picture shows Liao Hui, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and President of the China-Oceania Friendship Association, applauding Isobel at the Society’s 60th Anniversary Conference in Auckland in 2012.

NZ WRITER JOINS SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMEAlison Wong
Award-winning novelist and poet Alison Wong has been selected to take part in an inaugural writers’ exchange with China this year. She will be the first New Zealand writer to join the prestigious Shanghai International Writers’ Program in September and October, run by the Shanghai Writers’ Association. About eight writers from all over the world are selected for the opportunity each year. They get free travel, accommodation in Shanghai and time to write and absorb the culture of the largest city in China.
Alison is an established author who has received many awards for her work, including the 2010 NZ Post Book Award for Fiction for her novel As the Earth Turns Silver. The residency is part of a writers’ exchange arranged between the Shanghai Writers’ Association, the NZ China Friendship Society, the Michael King Writers’ Centre and the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.