April General Meeting: Date: Wednesday April 27, 2011. Time: 7.30pm Venue: Parent’s Centre, 87 Boundary Road (opposite Migrant Resource Centre). We have a real treat for you this time. Committee member Howard Zhang will be demonstrating “making and eating Tang Hun Tun (Soup Won Ton)”. Here is your chance to taste and learn how to make this old favourite of Chinese cuisine.
March Meeting on 30 March was a great success with our guest speaker Keith Woodley speaking on wading birds migrating between NZ and China It was a disappointment to not have a large crowd of our own members, but fortunately we were joined by members of the local Ornithological Society to make the visit worthwhile for our visiting guest speaker.
NZ China Friendship Society Tours: Congratulations and best wishes to member Miles Barker who is currently on our “Discover China Tour“ ( left Auckland on 13 April 2011). Our Society is running a very interesting NZCFS Projects and Tibetan Communities Tour in October (10 to 31 October 2011). It is still not too late to book for this very exciting trip. For details please check www.nzchinasociety.org.nz for details. If you do not have internet access, please ask for any of our committee members to download and copy the brochure for you.
NZCFS Annual General Meeting and Conference is being held this year in Wellington on 27 – 29 May 2011 at the Wellington City Council Chambers. At this stage, Jenevere, Stan, Meryl, Diane, Muriel, Peter Vautier, and Ian from our Branch are booked to attend. Any members are welcome to attend, and details have been communicated to members.
President Jenevere, and Ian attended a joint Auckland and Hibiscus Coast Branches Spring Festival and Fundraising dinner at the Royal Garden Restaurant at Milford on 23 March. 57 members and friends (including Consul-General Madame LIAO Juhua and Culture Consul Ms LONG Yanping) attended. A very successful auction of donated items raised over $5000-00 for the Red Cross Christchurch Relief Fund and Chinese victim’s families. Our Branch is also planning a Fundraising Dinner in May or June. Ian was also able to take CHEN Xiyao (Yao) up to the function to play his Guzheng (traditional Chinese harp) as a musical interlude to the dinner. Members who attended our NZFS Conference in Hamilton last year will recall Yao’s performing several items at the conference (the bottom right corner of the home page of www.nzchinasociety.org.nz has Yao playing from Minutes 3.53 to 9.40 for those who did not hear and see him perform live).
NZ HERALD in the week beginning 11 April 2011 had some very interesting features and figures on China and New Zealand relationships.
SHAANXI Delegation: a delegation of six officials from the Shaanxi Provincial government (Messrs. WEI Minzhou (leader), SU Xinquan, YANG Zhongwu, ZHOU Maoqin, WANG Shichun, and HUANG Yong (interpreter) paid a brief visit to Hamilton on Tuesday 19 April 2011 and met Branch President Jenevere Foreman and Committee Member Howard Zheng.
Library: Ian has several books and DVDs available for loan to members. “You Banfa!” by Rewi Alley – first published in 1952. “A Collection in Memory of Rewi Alley” – articles by friends published in 1997 on the 100th anniversary of Rewi’s birth. “Rewi Alley – an autobiography” first published in 1986. “Rewi – the story of Rewi Alley” by Tom Newnham, published in 1997. “Rewi Alley – from Canterbury to China”written by his niece Phillipa Reynolds and published in 1997. “New Zealand Women in China” by Tom Newnham published 1995. “Kathleen Hall – Kiwi Heroine in China” by Tom Newnham published 2000. “Kiwi Dragon – The Chinese in Aotearoa New Zealand – History, Culture, Hope” by Bill Willmott published 2009.
DVDs – (kindly provided by the Consulate-General)
“One Thousand Years of Shaolin Temple” 36 minute documentary – language options.
“Remembrance of Things Past” 25 minute documentary on Jewish migrant refugees in the 1930’s and 40’s who settled in Tianjin. Language options.
“Merchants on the Ancient Silk Road” 26 minute documentary on the lifestyle and expectations of a contemporary Uygur(ethnic) merchant. Language options.
“Ancient Folk Buildings in Huizhou” 30 minute documentary on ancient classical architecture in southern Anhui Province. Language options.
“Harmony in a Dong Ethnic Group Village” 25 minute documentary – the village of Tang’an in southwestern Guizhou Province is regarded as “a good example of human’s living in harmony with nature”. Language options.
“The Dancing Career of a Mute Girl” 25 minute documentary on a disabled girl from Zhenjiang. Language options. “Dancing with the Cranes” 25 minutes on the breeding programme on the red-crowned crane in the Yancheng Wetland Nature Reserve in Jiangsu Province. Language options.
“Colours of Mount Tianshan” 10 minute documentary on this scenic wonderland in Xinjiang. Language options.
“Su Embroidery” 15 minute documentary on the famous Suzhou silk embroidery. Language options.
“A Chinese Girl” 25 minutes documentary on a Kenyan girl, (descendant of Chinese landed there in the 1500’s from one of the Zheng He voyages) who was given a scholarship to study in Nanjing at the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine as part of the celebration of the 600th anniversary of Zheng He’s voyages abroad. Language options
“Light Rail” 95 minutes Feature Film of a couple facing the stresses and pressures of modern life. Language options.
“Perhaps Love” 100 minutes Feature Film on a love triangle in the modern film industry. Language options’
Please contact Ian [email protected] or phone 07 855 9431 if you would like to borrow any of these.
