NEXT BRANCH MEETING
Counsellor Cheng Lei, Chinese Embassy, will speak on China’s economy and China-NZ trade relations since the signing of the Free Trade Agreement”
Cheng Lei commenced as the deputy chief of mission at the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand in December 2010.
He joined the Foreign Service in 1992 starting as a desk officer at the Department of North American & Oceanian Affairs. His first overseas post was in Washington, D.C. (2001 to 2005) where he was in charge of bilateral political relations.
Prior to his latest post in New Zealand, Cheng was Director of the American affairs (2005-2006), Director of Canadian & Pacific Island countries affairs (2006-2007), and Counsellor (2007-2009) at the Department of North American & Oceanian Affairs.
Cheng holds a BA from Canton Foreign Studies University in China and a Master Degree of International Public Policy from the School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University. He is married with a daughter.
Wednesday, 15 August 2012, at 5:45 pm in Connolly Hall, Guildford Terrace, off Hill Street, Thorndon, Wellington (see map below) (Car park up Guildford Tce beside Hall)
An optional Chinese buffet meal, supplied by the Fujiyama Café, will follow the meeting at 7 pm. Orders for the $11.00 meal (please pay at the door) will be taken up till 6 pm. If you think you may be arriving late, please let the Secretary know in advance.
ALSO COMING UP THIS MONTH (see below for details)
4, 11 August, 3:15pm Mandarin Corner, 24 Kelburn Parade 13-14 August NZCCRC China Conference 18, 25 August, 3:15pm Mandarin Corner, 24 Kelburn Parade 30 August, 7:00pm Chinese Film, 101 Wakefield StMEETING DATES FOR THE REST OF 2012
Wed 19 Sep Dr Les Molloy, “Travels in the Mountains and Deserts of China’s ‘Western Region’’” Wed 17 Oct Dr Andrew Butcher, “In Pleasant Places: The Story of the Duncan Family in China in the 1940s” Wed 21 Nov Her Worship Celia Wade-Brown, Mayor of Wellington, “Mayoral Delegations to China”REPORT FROM LAST MEETING (by Luke Qin 秦瞳)
A Special General Meeting was held and two proposed changes to the Branch Rules were adopted to ensure consistency with the National Rules. The amended Rule 6.3 will now read: “Any member who is four months in arrears with dues shall not be entitled to enjoy the privileges of the Branch.” The amended Rule 7.1 will now read: “Any member who is in arrears of their annual subscription due at the end of April of any financial year shall be liable to be struck off the register of members.”
After the SGM, Margaret Hobbs (right) and Alison Viskovic (below) gave the audience a lively pictorial presentation of the April 2012 NZCFS Photographers’ Tour that saw them becoming part of the spectacular Li River scenery featured on the RMB 20 yuan banknote in Guilin; waiting patiently in line among a large group 
of photogenic Chinese tourists to take a picture of the most breathtaking landscape carved out of Planet Pandora on the precipices of the Zhangjiajie National Park; catching a glimpse in the mist of the gravity-defying pines of the Yellow Mountain; venturing into the ethnic Miao villages amongst local women dressed with sumptuous traditional costumes and heavy bling-bling headpieces under a giant Golden Phoenix totem; witnessing thousands of koi carp feeding in the picturesque West Lake in Hagzhou; and marvelling at the organised chaos at an intersection in Shanghai.
Captivating Images of landscapes, people, street scenes, shapes and colours surely whetted the appetite of many as the audience were treated with a nice visual overload of snippets of oriental charm, so much so that Margaret and Alison were frequently requested to “please go back to the previous photo” throughout the presentation.
MME MA BAORU’S VISIT TO WELLINGTON(by Christine Strickland)
Wellington branch members hosted Ma Baoru to lunch at the Grand Century on 18 June. She and Liu Guozhong, two of the three NZCFS National Honorary Members from China, visited Wellington after attending the Society’s 60th Anniversary Conference in Auckland. Guozhong and Dave Bromwich were in Wellington to participate in an International Cooperatives Conference, and Guozhong was the speaker at our branch meeting later that Sunday.
Ma Baoru works for the Hebei Tourist Bureau in Baoding, and has been extremely helpful to New Zealanders wishing to visit Kathleen Hall country, starting with Tom Newnham’s first visit and including the Kathleen Hall Centennial Tour in 1996. Recently she has monitored our He Mingqing Scholar Shen Qianqian through her nursing studies and kept in contact since her graduation.
Thanks to Mary Hall for providing homestay and looking after Baoru. They were invited to a small “hen-party” lunch at Mary Gray’s home.
IDIOM OF THE MONTH (from Ellen Yang)
精诚所至 金石为开 jīng chéng suǒ zhì，jīn shí wéi kāi
Nothing is impossible for a willing heart; Faith moves mountains.
WELLINGTON CONFERENCE ON CONTEMPORARY CHINA 2012
The New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre is organising this conference with the theme: The Chinese Model of Modern Economic Development and Social Transformation
This conference brings leading China scholars together for a one and half day international conference on the Chinese Model of Modern Economic Development and Social Transformation. Deputy Prime Minister Hon Bill English will open the conference and deliver a keynote speech. The conference will have leading international China scholars to speak at five panels and one theme roundtable on key issues in the Chinese model of economic development and transformation.
13-14 August, 2012, James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel, 147 The Terrace, Wellington
Registration is open now; NZ$65 for each participant which covers access to the opening session, roundtable, all the panels, lunch, morning and afternoon tea. Free admission for students. To register, RSVP prior to 10th August to Nastassja Van Gucht ([email protected]) with your name, title and name of your company/institution.
“THE MOST BEAUTIFUL LIGHTHOUSE” IN BEIJING’S RAINSTORM (by Luke Qin 秦瞳)
The worst rainstorm in Beijing in 61 years that started on Saturday (21 July) afternoon and continued late into the night has caused major disruption in the city and killed at least 37 people. 170mm (6.7 inches) of rain on average was dumped on the city with reports saying that West Beijing was hit the hardest by a mammoth 460mm downpour. Among the dramatic pictures posted on the internet by netizens and reporters showing parts of Beijing turning into fishing ponds and people picking up number plates washed away from a bevy of luxury cars stranded in the flash floods was a photo that has enthralled the public and shone like a beacon of hope for the millions affected.
It was taken by a netizen named “Rabbit” who was on the way home after work when she discovered that two workers clad in reflective clothing who looked so calm and collected stood in storm water drainage wells that had their covers blown away by water pressure in the flash floods to protect unsuspecting pedestrians and cars in the mad dash home. This photo had over 60,000 hits on Rabbit’s blog on the night the rainstorm hit and was aptly named the “Most Beautiful Lighthouse” in the world.
MANDARIN CORNER 汉语角 3.15pm Saturdays during school terms
Room 103, 24 Kelburn Parade, Victoria University of Wellington. There is a topic for each session to stimulate interest (may change subject to unforeseen circumstances). All welcome. Gold coin donation.
Four sessions in August 2012:
4 August – Sparkling Chinese Idioms and Sayings 妙语连珠说汉语
11 August – Sustainable Living 绿色生活方式
18 August – London 2012 Olympics Review 回顾2012年伦敦奥运会
25 August – International Language Week（8月19日- 8月25日) 国际语言周：保护世界语言并促进文化多样性可持续发展
Contact: Ellen Yang 杨川, 473-7558, 027-4756888, [email protected]
CHINESE FILM 中国电影 Date: Thursday 30 August Time: 7.00pm
Venue: Committee Room One, Wellington City Council, 101 Wakefield Street. Gold coin donation.
7pm – Documentary, WANDERING BETWEEN HEAVEN & EARTH, 纪录片《太极武当 – 逍遥天地》 (第八集), 7.30pm – Feature Film, 棋王（1988）The Wish
Set in the Cultural Revolution, the story is about how a young man undergoes a gradual transformation from “chess fool” (qi daizi) to “chess master” (90 minutes, English subtitle)
Director: Teng Wenji 滕文骥 Stars: Xie Yuan, Zhao Liang 谢园，赵亮
With Support from Confucius Institute, Victoria University of Wellington. http://www.victoria.ac.nz/ci/
CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE NEWS (from the CIVUW team)
The Confucius Institute at Victoria University Wellington and VUW Continuing Education will jointly offer two Chinese language courses that will start in September 2012. ‘Chinese 1’ is an introduction to Mandarin for beginners and ‘Chinese 2’ offers a series of classes for students with a basic knowledge of Mandarin. Enroll now and enjoy the early bird fee! http://www.victoria.ac.nz/cceshortcourses/
The Confucius Institute at VUW is proud to sponsor the Wellington (2, 3, 4 and 11th August) and Auckland (29 and 31st July) screenings of ’11 Flowers’ at the New Zealand 2012 International Film Festival. Directed by Wang Xiaoshuai, ‘11 Flowers’ tells the personal story of 11-year-old Wang Han who grows up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, a year before the death of Mao Zedong. The setting of a rural Chinese village in the 70s, superbly shot against the background of a suppressed Chinese society makes this film an absolute must see. Wholeheartedly recommended by all CI staff! For more information on the screening schedule throughout New Zealand, visit www.victoria.ac.nz/ci/news-events/events.aspx#11Flowers
Following last year’s success and together with Manawatu Chinese Trust, the CI will jointly sponsor ‘Childhood Memories’, a concert of piano music featuring Jian Liu (Head of Piano Studies at the New Zealand School of Music) and a number of his students. This concert will be held in Palmerston North on 25th August and has been made possible with the kind assistance of Creative Communities Scheme.
WORLD TIGER DAY CELEBRATED IN CHINA (by Joy Bickley Asher)
World Tiger Day, Sunday 29 July, was marked in China by the release of dozens of deer near its border with Russia in order to attract Siberian tigers over the border. Currently, there are about 500 tigers living in Siberia. The numbers have dropped alarmingly in recent years because of denuding forests and poaching. It is estimated that about 20 tigers currently reside in China. The World Wildlife Fund and local authorities co-operated to release 12 red deer and 12 sika deer into the forest at Wangqing, near Changbai Mountain in Jilin province. The deer are expected to complete the food chain of the Siberian tigers and lure more of them into China.
Fan Zhiyong a director of WWF China was quoted as saying that there are plenty of suitable places in the Changbai Mountain region for Siberian tigers to settle. Other initiatives in the region to mark World Tiger Day include reforestation, anti-poaching campaigns and population monitoring. Recent regular sightings of Siberian tigers in north east China have prompted calls for closer cooperation with Russian authorities on tiger protection and the expansion of natural reserves. (from zeenews.india.com)
