VOL.6 NO.7

ALSO IN THIS ISSUEALSO IN THIS ISSUEALSO IN THIS ISSUEALSO IN THIS ISSUEALSO IN THIS ISSUEAnnouncements / 2Events/ 3-4Recognition / 5-6Education / 7, 10Culture / 8-9Film / 11Business / 12-15Community / 16

Copyright © 2007 China Insight, Inc. All Rights Reserved JUNE 2007

State officials and representatives fromthe People’s Republic of China formalized aMemorandum of Understanding (MOU) onMay 16, 2007, to work together to stimulatetwo-way investments between Minnesotaand China.

The signing ceremony was held in theGovernor’s Reception Room at the Minne-sota State Capitol and was attended by in-vited guests that included representativesfrom local Chinese organizations and othergroups that support expanded trade rela-tions with each other.

Tony Lorusso, Executive Director of theMinnesota Trade Office (MTO), stated inhis introductory remarks, “…today we willembark upon a new relationship between theState of Minnesota and the People’s Repub-lic of China. Today, the Minnesota TradeOffice, representing the State of Minnesotaand the Department of Employment and Eco-nomic Development will sign a Memoran-dum of Understanding with the ChinaInvestment Promotion Agency of the Min-istry of Commerce of the People’s Republic

of China to jointly collaborate on two-wayinvestment between Minnesota andChina.”Lorusso also mentioned that earlier in theweek, he and Lt. Governor Carol Molnau

Investment agreement signedbetween Minnesota and ChinaBy Greg Hugh, Staff Writer

Investment continues on Page 12

Seeking to expand our knowledgeof Traditional Chinese VeterinaryMedicine (TCVM), Dr. Keum HwaChoi led 13 veterinary students on

a trip to China and Korea, where we partici-pated in classes at China Agricultural Uni-versity in Beijing, China, and Kyung Hee

University in Seoul,Korea. Dr. Choi, origi-nally from South Ko-rea, is head of theComplementary andAlternative MedicineService at the Univer-sity of Minnesota Vet-erinary MedicalCenter.

For one month, welearned theories ofmedicine like the KoCycle, the ShengCycle, and techniqueslike acupuncture, cup-ping, and herbology.While travelingthrough China andSouth Korea, we vis-ited sights like theTerra Cotta Warriors,

the White Goose Pagoda, the ForbiddenCity, the Great Wall of China, and theDaeheungsa Buddhist Temple.

We landed in China after 26-hours offlights and layovers. Immediately, I realizedthat we were in a much different place. Beijingis a city that is being built as you watch. It isdifficult to look in any direction without see-ing a crane, hoisting some I-beams to makethe next large skyscraper. Some places ofthe city are brand new. The sidewalks don’thave any cracks in them. The grass is greenand watered daily.

Around most of the beautiful condos arewalls at least 6 feet high. Some have barbedwire on the tops of the walls. Alleys sepa-rated the walled-communities. Local mer-chants stayed in the alleys most the daysselling scrap metal, fixing bikes, cooking avariety of foods or squatting in the road.Other places in the city are old and seem-ingly built for function, rather than form. Thebuildings were drab and had exposed wiresand broken windows. The most striking partof the cityscape was that two of these afore-mentioned buildings were literally built nextto each other, separated by large brick wallsand barbed wire. The whole country is pre-paring for the Olympics in Beijing in 2008,

Learning about TraditionalMedicine and the culturesthat developed itBy Matthew Pike, DVM

Medicine continues on Page 6

Government officials (L to R) Consul General Xu Jinzhong, Director General LiuYajun, CIPA, Tony Lorusso, Executive Director, MTO, and Yu Hua,

Director General, CIPAhad traveled to Chicago to meet with a del-egation of Chinese government and busi-ness leaders in an effort to attract moreChinese business investment to Minnesota

Matthew Pike

Twin Cities ChineseDance Center and

Minhua Chorus

Page 11

Page 9

Film producer visits

Page 7Sucheng Chan

and the buildings were most likely being builtin time for the Games.

We spent the first week in classes, wherethe Dean of Veterinary Medicine at the ChinaAgricultural University honored us with fre-quent visits. We were treated to dinner andkaraoke by the chairs of the Veterinary Hos-pital. Whenever our plate was empty, we

CCCCCHINHINHINHINHINAAAAAINSIGHTFostering business and cultural harmony between China and the U.S.

Dear Readers:

As we all prepare to enjoy the great sum-mer season that will eventually arrive in Min-nesota, I’d like to take this opportunity tothank all of those that took the time to pro-vide us with updates on their Chinese lan-guage programs and look forward to yourcontinued cooperation as we strive to pro-vide more coverage of this popular topic inthe future. Again, we will make every effortto mention as many programs as we possi-bly can. Obviously, it would be impossibleto include every program, so we invite yourassistance so that we can properly repre-sent how the State of Minnesota continuesto be the leader in the nation.

At this time I would also like to intro-duce the newest member of our staff, WillAhern, Director of Marketing and Commu-nications. Will comes to us with an exten-sive background in computer marketing andsales. He has been associated with the GreatWall Adoption Agency and he and his wifeare the proud parents of a young girl adoptedfrom China. He also serves on the Dragon

Pronouncementsfrom the Publisher

Festival board and is serving as their Out-reach Director.

Join me in welcoming Will to our staffand please don’t hesitate to contact him todiscuss how China Insight might better servethe community. I’m sure he will be glad tohear from you. His primary responsibilityright now will be to expand our presence onthe internet which will incorporate new ini-tiatives.

China Insight is pleased and proud tointroduce a totally new look and functional-ity to its Web site, www.chinainsight.info.For six years China Insight has brought hun-dreds of articles from the cultural to busi-ness coverage to our readers. Now, morethan ever our Web site extends the possi-bilities for insight into the complex andevolving relationship between China and theUnited States.

This spring, we have introduced the firstphase of a multiple phase initiative. OurWeb site is now searchable, contains linksto follow and explore stories in depth andcontains videos that complement our ar-ticles. Soon we will make all of our past

articles searchable so our library of hun-dreds of articles will also be available in aneasy to explore format.

Over the coming months, our Web sitewill become more interactive, presentingblogs on relevant topics and experiences aswell as the continued enrichment with morephotos and videos. Interactivity also meanslistening to you as we shape our site. Theexperiences and inventiveness alive in thisChina/U.S relationship is rich with ideas.Please let us know what you think.

As the Internet continues to expand andperformance increases, we intend to bringmore features and content to bear that workstoward China Insight’s objective of “foster-ing business and cultural harmony betweenChina and the U.S.”

Thank you for your continued supportof China Insight. Please don’t hesitate tocontact us with any suggestions to makeour paper one that continues to serve thegreater Twin Cities community with contentand resources that are relevant.

Sincerely,

Gregory J. HughGregory J. HughGregory J. HughGregory J. HughGregory J. Hugh

Gregory J. HughPublisher

Letters to the EditorKudos

Excellent piece on Mandarin educationin Minnesota! I am really please[d] with howmuch space you gave it in your paper.

Congratulations on a great edition.

Joan A. Brzezinski Interim Director, China CenterAssociate Director, Mingda Institute forLeadership TrainingUniversity of Minnesota

What about Minneapolis? I read with interest your article about Chi-

nese programs in Minnesota and noted thatat least one of our programs in MinneapolisPublic Schools was not mentioned and an-other one was not noted as being in Minne-apolis. I had sent updated information lastyear to Asia Society about our programs, soI am dismayed that this information was noton what you mention is the "most recentlist" from them.

That said, I would like to inform you ofthe expanded Minneapolis Public SchoolsChinese program. Minneapolis South HighSchool has had a full Chinese program inexistence for over 30 years. Mr. DingmanYu has received grants from the U.S. De-partment of State for study abroad for hisstudents and much recognition for his dis-tinguished program where students can takefour full years of Chinese as well as Collegein the Schools Chinese for university cred-its. Your list includes Elizabeth Hall Interna-tional Elementary School, but it only says"MN" as the location so that one would notknow it is in Minneapolis.

While it was not included on your list,we are proud to note that in 2006 Northeast6-8. This gives students in Minneapolis Pub-lic Schools an opportunity to begin learningChinese in Kindergarten and continuethrough 12th grade. Finally, Patrick

Henry High School in North Minneapolis willbe adding Chinese as a language offering inaddition to French, Japanese, and Spanishin fall 2007.

In addition, Minneapolis Public Schoolshosted the first gathering of Chinese lan-guage teachers in Minnesota on Saturday,April 21st, 2007 with more than 50 peopleattending a breakfast meeting with presen-tations by Better Chinese Curriculum fromCalifornia and presentations by the Minne-sota Council of Teachers of Languages andCultures.

We in Minneapolis Public Schools areproud of all of our language programs and Iinvite you to contact me whenever youwould like information for your newspaperregarding our programs.

Thank you very much for your efforts topromote language learning in our state. Gaelle BergWorld Languages SpecialistMinneapolis Public Schools

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CCCCCHINAHINAHINAHINAHINAINSIGHTPage 2 > June 2007 announcements

The coverage of Chinese language pro-grams in the May 2007 issue is by no meansa comprehensive overview. Rather, the in-tention was to give an idea of the wide rangeof Chinese language programs available.Thank you for the up to date informationabout the Chinese language offerings inthe Minneapolis Public School system. Wealways welcome, and regularly request, up-dates and in depth information about allaspects of Chinese language learning fromeducators, administrators and students. Welook forward to learning more about Min-neapolis schools’ Chinese language pro-grams from you, as well as from teachersand students, and sharing it with readersin future issues of China Insight. Also, forthe record, the list we published from theAsia Society is the current list publishedon their Web site http://askasia.org/chinese/states/minnesota.htm#directory. If yourschool is not listed we would recommendgoing to this site and submit it accordingly.

Sincerely,The Editors

From the Editors

Publisher/Editor:Gregory J. Hughghugh@chinainsight.info

Associate Editor:Jennifer Nordinjnordin@chinainsight.info

Manger of Operations/Circulation/China Marketing/Circulation:Richard Herhe@chinainsight.info

Production Editor:Dawn Murphydmurphy @chinainsight.info

Director of Marketing and Commu-nications:Will Ahernwahern@chinainsight.info

Advertising Representative:Amy Lau-Fongalau-fong@chinainsight.info

Staff Writers:

Will Ahernwahern@chinainsight.info

Greg Hughghugh@chinainsight.info

Phil Leeplee@chinainsight.info

Albert Leungaleung@chinainsight.info

Jennifer Nordinjnordin@chinainsight.info

Mike Xiongmxiong@chinainsight.info

About CHINAInsight

CHINAInsight is a monthly English-lan-guage newspaper fostering business andcultural harmony between China and theU.S.

CHINAInsight is a member of the Minne-sota Chapter of the Asian American Jour-nalists Association.

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Letters to the Editor become the prop-erty of CHINAInsight and may be editedfor length and published. Articles willnot be published without the expressconsent of the author.

NOTICE TO READERS: The views ex-pressed in articles are the author’s andnot necessarily those of CHINAInsight.Authors may have a business relation-ship with the companies or businessesthey discuss.

www.chinainsight.info

JUNE 2007 > PAGE 3www.chinainsight.info events

At a recent gathering of the MinnesotaChinese Language Associates (MCLASS),about 30 Chinese language educators at-tended a meeting sponsored by MinnetonkaPublic Schools and China Books. The groupused this opportunity to network, shareideas, examine and discuss curriculum forthe fall and had tea and baozi, along withbeing able to participate in an excellent pre-sentation by Chellis Ying of China Books.

The idea of forming an organization thatresulted into MCLASS began back in March2007 when representatives from over 10 dif-ferent school districts gathered at FridleyHigh School and worked on what it wouldtake to have a professional Chinese teach-ers association in MN. Adele Munsterman,past president of the Minnesota Council on

Chinese language educatorsform new organization

The China AIDS Orphan Fund will hostthe 3rd Annual Peony Festival on Saturday,June 23 at 2-5 p.m.

Peony Festival 2007 will feature an ex-citing market experience where families willbe magically transported by the smells,sounds and tastes of China. It will featureChinese cuisine, a silent auction, and pro-vide an opportunity to participate in tradi-tional Chinese cultural activities. The eventwill be educational and fun for people of allages.

The name of Henan Province (whichmeans “south of the river”) comes from itsgeographic location on the Yellow River. Itis considered the cradle of Chinese civiliza-tion and boasts a very rich heritage. Thepeony is the official flower of Henan Prov-ince, where it is considered “The greatestbeauty under heaven.” An annual peonyfestival is held in Henan’s capital city andlasts for ten days in the spring.

Peony Festival 2007 will be held in TheGreat Hall, Coffman Union at the Universityof Minnesota on 300 Washington AvenueS.E. in Minneapolis. Tickets are US$20 perperson for adults and US$5 per person forchildren.

China AIDS OrphanFund to host3rd Annual PeonyFestival

the Teaching of Languagesand Culture (MCTLC) andJodi James, Secondary Chi-nese teacher for Fridleyhosted this initial event thatwas sponsored by Fridleyschools.

On April 21st, about 60people attended the first or-ganizational meeting, spon-sored by Minneapolis PublicSchools and Better ChinesePublishing. At this meetingthe long history of ChineseLanguage Education in Min-nesota, was recognized and

especially that of MCTLC’sfounder, Margaret Wong.The organization looks for-ward to collaborating as Chi-nese language educatorsand to working togetherwith the other languageteachers in Minnesota on aprofessional level. Theirmission will be to hold Chi-nese Language Education inMinnesota to a high profes-sional standard, to enjoyworking together and asthey do so, celebratingChinese Language andCulture, andfellowshipping with all ofthe teachers of secondlanguages and cultures in

Minnesota and beyond.The organization then elected officers

as follows with their school affiliations noted:President, Margaret Wong, Breck School;Vice President in Charge of Finance, ShirleyJohnson, Fridley and now Blake; Vice Presi-dent in Charge of Membership, KristineWogastad, St. Paul; Secretary, Ian Burns,St. Paul; and Public Relations, Jodi YimJames, Fridley.

Also, earlier in May, at the MCTLC Work-shop on Language Education Curriculum inHenderson, MN, there were three ChineseLanguage Educators that representedMCLASS: Shannon Cannella from St. Paul

Academy, Jodi Yim James from Fridley Pub-lic Schools, and Donna Kelly from the U ofMN Grad School, in training to teach.

MCLASS has been formed under theumbrella of MCLTC and board membersWong and Johnson represent Chinese lan-guage teachers at MCLTC. Even thoughMCLASS is just organized and new, it al-ready has attracted a large following of over60 people involved in Chinese education inMinnesota and expects to participate at theMCTLC Convention that will be held thisfall where there will be a large presence ofChinese presentations and vendors.

Individuals and corporations sponsorPeony Festival 2007 four levels.

Gold Sponsors (US$500) receive the fol-lowing recognition: name, address andphone number listed on the CAOF Web site;name on the signage inside the ballroom;name included in any advertisements in lo-cal Asian newspapers; placement of busi-

ness cards/ad/menu on tableat Peony Festi-val; on-stagerecogn i t ion ;and placementof card near do-nated dishes.

S i l v e rS p o n s o r s(US$250) havetheir name on thesignage inside theballroom; place-ment of businesscards/ad/menu ontable at PeonyFestival; on-stagerecognition; and

placement of card near donated dishes.Bronze Sponsors (US$100) have place-

ment of business cards/ad/menu on table atPeony Festival and placement of card neardonated dishes.

Tickets for 10: Those who purchasetickets for 10 adults (US$200) are listed inthe program book and the CAOF Web siteas Table for Ten.

For information, contact the China AIDSOrphan Fund at 612-203-4477info@chinaaidsorphanfund.org.

All proceeds from Peony Festival 2007will benefit the China AIDS Orphan Fund, a501(c) (3) charity.

For more information about Peony Fes-tival 2007 and the China AIDS Orphan Fund,visit www.chinaaidsorphanfund.org.

AdvertisersYour potential customers are reading

CCCCCHINAHINAHINAHINAHINAInsight. Shouldn't you be bringingthem in the door with an ad? Our readersare:- Well-traveled- Opportunity-seeking- Entrepreneurial- Open-minded- Excited about understanding China

Rates are highly competitive.Contact Greg Hugh (952-472-4757,ads@chinainsight.info) or visitwww.chinainsight.info for moreadvertising information.

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Jodi Yim James, Public Relations for MCLASS and ChellisYing of China Books

Attendees interacting, center, Xueying Yu from Beijingcurrently teaching at International School Minnesota

Chellis Ying of China Books at rightanswering questions

PAGE 4 > JUNE 2007 www.chinainsight.infoevents

Here are just some of the events held incelebration of Asian Pacific American Heri-tage Month in May.

May 1 Noon-2 p.m.2007 Asian Pacific American Heritage

Month Celebration – Kick Off EventA full and exciting program of cultural

events, speakers, updates on important is-sues. Individuals were given the opportu-nity to sign letters and speak with legislators,and the opportunity to view Asian Art ondisplay in Capitol Rotunda and North Corri-dor, etc. This event was held at the StateCapitol Rotunda, St. Paul and was free andopen to the public. Sponsored by the Councilon Asian-Pacific Minnesotans.

May 6 4 p.m.The Minnesota Chinese Music En-

semble Spring Concert75 minute-long concert (including inter-

mission) sponsored by the MN ChineseMusic Ensemble. Jannet Wallace ConcertHall, Macalester College, St. Paul. Informa-tion: www.minnesotachinesemusic.com .The concert was free and open to the pub-lic.

May 7 – May 23Spice and Slice of Asian Culture

Hennepin County Library Asian HeritageMonth Events.

Monday, May 7, 7:00 pmRidgedale Library, 12601 Ridgedale Dr.,

Minnetonka, MN 55305, 952-847-8800.Spice and Slice of Asian Culture: Chi-

nese in America. Evelina Chao, author andSt. Paul Chamber Orchestra violist, read fromand spoke about how she came to write "YehYeh's House," her experiences growing upChinese in America, straddling cultures, gen-erations, and becoming an artist. The read-ing was free and open to the public.

May 12 11-2 p.m.Asian Media Access Tea Tasting

FundraiserA fun, cross-cultural learning experience.

Free form tea tasting and traditional tea cer-emony demonstration. Midtown GlobalMarket, Stall #107, 920 E. Lake St., Minne-apolis, MN. This event was free and opento the public. www.amamedia.org/CapitalCampaign/event.html.

May 18 6:30-9 p.m.Asian Pacific American Annual Dinner

& Award PresentationA community event celebrating the

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.Dinner Highlights included a Keynote Per-formance by Tou Ger Xiong, Cultural Perfor-mances, 2007 Leadership AwardPresentation, etc. Sponsored by the Coun-cil on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans and oth-ers. Golden Valley Golf and Country Club,7001 Golden Valley Rd., Golden Valley, MN55427. Cost was US$45/person.

May 20 4 p.m.Legends of the EastThe performance was sponsored by the

Twin Cities Chinese Dance Center and heldat the Performing Art Center, Centennial Se-nior High School, 4707 North Road, CirclePines, MN 55104. Tickets were Adult US$16,Children US$12, Family of 4 package US$48.www.yangdance.org .

May 22 4-6:30 p.m.Asian Pacific Cultural Center Commu-

nity Forum.Speakers included St. Paul Mayor Chris

Coleman and Council President KathyLantry, Community Supporters and Artists(speaking and performing). MetropolitanState University, Great Hall, 700 E. SeventhSt., St. Paul, MN 55106. This event was opento the public.

Celebrations of APAHeritage Month

On May 6, 2007, the Coffman Union The-atre on the campus of the University of Min-nesota was filled with anear-capacity audience toattend the first solo recital bythe popular tenor, Li Lei. Theall-Chinese program featuredclassic songs from severalminority tribes in China. They included songs fromthe autonomous regions ofInner Mongolia and Xinjianand provinces of Yunnan,Sichuan and Gansu.

These regions, lying in the western,northwestern and northern areas of China,share a common landscape – that of the cen-tral Asian steppes. The classic songs fromthis region naturally evoke the geographyof wide-open spaces, bright sky, crisp airand rolling grasslands.

There were four separate sets of three

songs each that were introduced and nar-rated by Margaret Wong who provided

translations and visuals ofthe various regions associ-ated with each song.

Accompanying tenorLei on the piano was PearlLam Bergad.

Immediately followingthe program, a receptionwas held in the lobby of thetheatre so that the audiencecould greet the artists.

Based on theacknowledgements printed in the program,there was much support from the commu-nity for this recital and Mr. Lei’s concertcommittee could rival that of any rock star.

For a more detailed article on Mr. Lei’sbackground please see the April 2007 issueof ChinaInsight atwww.chinainsight.info.

Tribal songs ofChina performed bytenor Li Lei

Li Lei

The porcelain exhibit consisting of hun-dreds of pieces has been organized by KailiInternational Trade Company direct fromJingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province, P.R. China.On display are newly developed fine porce-lain and ceramic artwork including replicasof ancient masterworks, thin shell vases,ceramic sculptures, modern china housewares and many other items. According toMs. Huang Yu, a representative of the orga-nizer, many of these items have never beenshown outside of China and all of them areavailable for purchase.

Jingdezhen, formerly known as the "Por-celain Capital” of China, is one of China'smost famous cultural and historic cities. It issituated in the northeast part of Jiangxi Prov-ince of East China. Endowed by nature witha network of rivers and hills, Jingdezhen is amunicipality directly under the provincialgovernment with a total area of 5,200 squarekilometers and a population of 1.4 million.Leping City, Fuliang County, ChangjiangDistrict and Zhushan District are under itsjurisdiction, among which Changjiang andZhushan districts make up the urban areawith a land area of 124 square kilometersand a population of 380,000."The best por-celain of the world is in China, and China'sbest is in Jingdezhen", stated the late Chi-

Exquisite ChinesePorcelain fromJingdezhen Citynow on exhibit

University of Minnesota's China Centerand Center for Advanced Research on Lan-guage Acquisition (CARLA), and the Min-nesota Department of Education arecosponsors of the program Starting a Chi-nese Language Program: A Seminar for K-12Administrators.

This program is designed for adminis-trators who have an interest in offering Man-darin Chinese in their schools. Participantswill have the opportunity to explore basicprogram design, including learning out-comes, evaluating teacher qualifications, andbasic licensure issues.

The seminar will be held on Monday,June 4, 2007, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at theUniversity of Minnesota in the MississippiRoom of Coffman Memorial Union.

The registration fee of US$75.00 in-cludes lunch, a copy of Creating a ChineseLanguage Program in Your School (AsiaSociety) and a copy of the Chinese Lan-guage Program: Curriculum Development

Starting a ChineseLanguage Program:A Seminar for K-12AdministratorsJune 4, 2007

Correction:The correct caption for a photo which

accompanied the article “InternationalBusiness Conference: Business Opportu-nities in Malaysia” on page 12 in the May2007 issue of China Insight is: Hon.Rafidah Aziz, Malaysia Minister of Inter-national Trade and Industry with Minne-sota Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau.

Project (Minnesota Department of Educa-tion). The registration deadline was May21, 2007.

For more information about this seminaras well as other upcoming events, visithttp://www.chinacenter.umn.edu.

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nese historian and scholar, Guo Moruo. Theceramic industry experienced a long-timedevelopment at Jingdezhen. During the TangDynasty (618-907), the technique started tomature. Jingdezhen became a major porce-lain producer in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The kiln in the Yuan Dynasty(1271-1368) boasted the highest porcelain-making techniques. Thereafter, the Liangfuporcelain office was set up. Since the MingDynasty (1368-1644), it has been the centerof the ceramic industry. In the Ming and Qingdynasties when skills became perfected andthe general quality being more refined; gov-ernmental kilns were set up to cater exclu-sively to the need of the royal families. Inthe long-time development, the artists andcraftsmen in Jingdezhen brought their fulltalent into play and created numerous mas-terpieces. Jingdezhen porcelain has formedfour special features, which are "white likejade, bright as a mirror, thin as paper, soundlike a chime."

The exhibit is now on display untilJune 12, 2007 at Shanghai WholesaleCompany, 451 E. Industrial Blvd. NE,Minneapolis. For additional informationsee their ad on page 9 or see a video atwww.chinainsight.info.

in education, and his ser-vice as a national leader inadvancing science poli-cies.

Professor Lu was bornin 1942 in Ningbo, ZhejiangProvince. He graduatedfrom the Machinery De-partment of Zhejiang Uni-versity in 1964, becominga lecturer in that depart-ment. After obtaining hisdoctorate in EngineeringScience from Aachen In-dustrial University in WestGermany in 1981, he re-sumed his teaching post at

www.chinainsight.info JUNE 2007 > PAGE 5recognitionU of M Asian American Student Groupsreceive Tony Diggs Excellence Awards

U of M Friendship Association of Chinese Students and Scholars board members Bo Li(second left) and Guihong Chen (second right) accept the Tony Diggs Award from U ofM Senior Vice President for System Academic Administration Robert Jones (right) andJerry Rinehart, Vice Provost for Student Affairs

The Friendship Association of ChineseStudents and Scholars and the Asian-Ameri-can Student Union are two University ofMinnesota student groups that received thefirst annual Tony Diggs Excellence Awards.

The awards recognize the contributionsmade by outstanding student groups at theUniversity. Diggs was the former Director ofthe Student Activities who passed away af-ter a long battle with cancer in 2006. He be-gan his career at the University of Minnesotamore than 16 years ago. He was an advisorand director of the African American Learn-ing Resource center for many years. Mostrecently he served as the Director of the Stu-dent Activities Office (SAO) from 2003-2006.

The Friendship Association of ChineseStudents and Scholars and the Asian-Ameri-can Student Union both received the Out-standing Organization of the Year honor.

During the 2006-07 academic year, theFriendship Association of Chinese Studentsand Scholars has recruited more members

than any previous year. FACSS keeps inconstant contact with their members andworks to make the University a welcomingplace for international students. They alsohave arranged airport pick-ups for new stu-dents and temporary housing for those ar-riving to Minnesota during the summermonths. They have collaborated with com-munity organizations, churches, and otherstudent groups to serve their membership.

The Asian-American Student Union wasnominated multiple times by different indi-viduals for their outstanding work in offer-ing support for Asian American studentsand increase campus awareness of AsianAmerican cultures and issues. ASU servesas a resource for many student organiza-tions working to create cultural competenceand understanding. It hosted numerousevents during the school year including thewinter gala, New Year celebrations and theannual spring conference.

DistinguishedprofessorLu Yongxiangreceives honorarydegree from U of M

Professor LuYongxiang, president ofthe Chinese Academy ofSciences and vice chair-man of the standingcommittee of the Na-tional People's Congressin China, received theUniversity's HonoraryDoctor of Science de-gree in a ceremony onthe Twin Cities campuson May 21. He was hon-ored for his innovativescholarship and re-search in mechanical en-gineering, his leadership

Members of the University of Minnesota Asian American Student Union have receivedthe Tony Diggs Award for their outstanding contribution to campus life.

Lu Yongxiang

Zhejiang University. He spent much of hiscareer affiliated with Zhejiang Universityserving as deputy director of its Science andTechnology Research Institute, director ofits Laboratory of Fluid Transmission andControl and director of its DevelopmentCommission. He eventually became its vicepresident in 1987, and president in 1988, apost he retained until 1995.

In 1986 he became a member of the Aca-demic Degrees Committee of the State Coun-cil (ADCSC), becoming vice-chairman in1998. He has also been a member of NationalNatural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)and vice chairman of the China Associationfor Science and Technology (CAST).

In 1992, Professor Lu was made a mem-ber of the Department of Science and Tech-nology of CAS, a leading academicinstitution and comprehensive research anddevelopment centre in natural science, tech-nological science and high-tech innovation.In 1993 he became vice president of CAS,and by 1997 he had become the youngestpresident in CAS history, a post he holdstoday.

In 1994 he was elected an academicianof the Chinese Academy of Engineering, thehighest scientific status in China. The fol-

lowing year he was elected an honorary doc-tor of engineering of the Hong Kong Uni-versity of Science and Technology. In 1998Hong Kong invited him to serve on its Inno-vation and Technology Commission and inthe same year he was elected vice presidentof the Third World Academy of Sciences.

Professor Lu is also Vice-Chairman of theNational People's Congress (NPC), the high-est organ of state power of the People's Re-public of China. He has published more than280 papers and six books. He holds 18 pat-ents. He has received the National Innova-tion Prize of China (1988 and 1989), theNational Engineering Higher Education Prizeof China (1989), in 2000 the German awardthe Knight's Commander's Cross (Badge andStar) and many other awards and prizes.

In 2005, Lu Yongxiang was elected Presi-dent of the Inter Academy Councils (IAC) inAmsterdam, an umbrella organization for in-ternational cooperation in science and tech-nology whose members comprise scientificacademies in over 80 countries.

In 2006, Lu Yongxiang has been honoredwith the Harnack medal, which is the high-est distinction that the Max Planck Societycan confer. !

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The Humphrey Institute of Public Affairshosted the 2007 Hubert H. Humphrey PublicLeadership Awards on Wednesday, May 16,at the McNamara Alumni Center. This year'srecipients were Senator John C. Danforth,former U.S. Senator from Missouri and Am-bassador to the United Nations; Josie R.Johnson, civil rights leader and educator;Eugene C. Sit, founder and co-chair of theMinnesotans' Military Appreciation Fund;and Harlan Cleveland, former ambassadorto NATO and founding dean of theHumphrey Institute.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Public Lead-ership Awards honor individuals, organiza-tions, or projects that have madecontributions to the common good throughpublic leadership and service. The PublicLeadership Awards were inaugurated in 2003to mark the 25th anniversary of the Insti-tute. Recipients are nominated by outsideindividuals and selected by a committee.

2007 Public LeadershipAward Recipients

Eugene C. Sit founded Sit InvestmentAssociates (SIA) in 1981 and remains chair-man, CEO, and global chief investment of-ficer for SIA and its various investmentcompanies. Sit is very active in the invest-ment industry and in community affairs. Heis the founder and director of the Minneso-tans' Military Appreciation Fund (MMAF),a non-partisan fundraising initiative thatbenefits soldiers who have served in com-bat since September 2001. Since its launchin 2005, nearly $5.5 million has been raisedand distributed to 3,148 soldiers and 26 fami-lies whose loved ones were killed in combat.His community involvement also reaches thearts and higher education. Among his obli-gations, he currently serves as a trustee ofthe University of Minnesota Carlson Schoolof Management's international programsand the dean's Board of Visitors for the Uni-versity of Minnesota Medical School.

John C. Danforth represented the Stateof Missouri in the U.S. Senate from 1976 to1995. During his tenure he served on topcommittees including the Committee on Fi-nance; Committee on Commerce, Science,and Transportation; and the Select Commit-tee on Intelligence. In 2004, he was nomi-nated to serve as President Bush'sRepresentative to the United Nations. Heheld this post until he resigned in 2005 andrejoined the international law firm Bryan Cave

U of M Hubert H.Humphrey Institutehonors communityleaders

LLP as a part-ner in its St.Louis office. Inaddition tobuilding astrong politicaland legal ca-reer, Danforthserves as an or-dained ministerin the Episco-pal Church. Hisreligious andpolitical views

come together in his most recent book Faithand Politics: How the "Moral Values" De-bate Divides America and How to MoveForward Together.

Josie R. Johnson has been a civil rightsadvocate since she could walk around theneighborhood and knock on doors. In theearly 1960s, Johnson lobbied professionallyfor fair housing and employment opportuni-ties. Over the years, she has worked withelected officials, educators, and businessleaders to build diverse relationships andincrease opportunities for underprivileged,underserved populations. She has been ac-tive in numerous organizations working forsocial awareness and justice, such as theUrban League, the National Association forthe Advancement of Colored People, andthe Harriet Tubman Center. Johnson helpedestablish the Minnesota State HumanRights Department and served on the na-tional board of directors of the League ofWomen Voters. She served as the first Afri-can-American on the University ofMinnesota's Board of Regents from 1971 to1973, and it was during her tenure that theBoard created the Office of Equal Opportu-nity and Affirmative Action.

Harlan Cleveland has enjoyed a longcareer in public service, international affairs,global aid relief, and education. He beganhis career in the 1940s as an economic war-fare specialist in Washington, D.C. He laterserved as assistant secretary of state forInternational Organization Affairs in the ad-ministration of President John F. Kennedy,and in 1965 he was appointed by PresidentLyndon B. Johnson as U.S. Ambassador toNATO, serving in that post until 1969. Hebrought his international experience tohigher education and eventually served asthe founding dean of the Humphrey Insti-tute of Public Affairs.

Students winUniversity of Minnesotascholarships

will graduate from Apple Valley High School,will enroll in the College of Biological Sci-ences.

Kevin Kwong, son of Andrew and SelinaKwong of Fridley, has received a President'sDistinguished Student Scholarship. He willgraduate from Spring Lake Park High Schoolin June, will enroll in the Institute of Tech-nology.

Tianlin Shi of Suzhou, China, has re-ceived a Global Excellence Scholarship. Shewill graduate from Suzhou High School inJune, will enroll in the Carlson School ofManagement.

The following students have receivedscholarships at the University of Minnesota.In offering this highly competitive scholar-ship, the U of M honors incoming studentswho have demonstrated exceptional aca-demic performance and leadership.

The scholarship recipients are:Xiao Ying Lou, daughter of Wengi Lou

and Pei Lei Jiang of Burnsville, has receiveda Minnesota Gold Scholarship, a BentsonFamily Scholarship, a President Scholarship,a College of Biological Sciences Scholarship,a Study Abroad Scholarship and an Under-graduate Research Scholarship. Lou, who

were told to refill. Whenever our cups wereempty, they were refilled. The residentsworking at the hospital were always athand to make sure that we were comfort-able and that we had everything weneeded.

After a week of intensive study, wetraveled China by air and bus. While ontour, it became apparent that we were be-ing shuffled through beautiful and ancientmonuments, with only minutes to spare totake pictures. We visited the Great Wallfor 40 minutes, and the restaurant that hada huge gift shop for 2 hours. The contrastbetween the people of China that were help-ing us during our classes in the first weekand these large tour groups gave a differ-ence in impression of how some Chineseprepared for the Westerners.

When we were alone with the people

at the vet school, we compared notes ontreatments of various common ailments.We discussed politics openly even thoughwe knew that the people told us that theyweren’t allowed to talk too much aboutpolitics. We talked about our families andfriends back home. When we were on tour,the same conversations became more su-perficial. The food was Americanized,fried and drowning in sugar-laden sauces.The tour guide was concerned that weweren’t buying enough at the gift shopsor we were going to be late for the nextmonument.

From an outsider’s point of view, Chinais a country of opposites. The beautifulexpensive condos separated from rundown buildings by brick walls, barbedwires, and security guards. The wonder-fully open and honest trying to teach youabout the culture and the tour guides whoprodded us through the gorgeous monu-

ments, Buddhist Temples, wonders of theworld so we could go to the gift shops andspend money. In a way, the contrast human-ized the whole experience for me.

The countryside leading into the majorcities was very old and traditional. The vastfields of rice paddies were worked by handby small village communities that can be eas-ily seen from the road. Approaching a majorcity, the buildings on the outskirts are verytraditional, with traditional shingles and builtwell before the current owners were livingthere. The city on the inside looks like anymajor city in the world. In all, our trip was

educational—both as a means to learn-ing about the principles and methods ofTraditional Chinese Medicine, and forgaining insight into a country where thecurrent pressures of Western-influencedconsumerism rests on the shoulders of arich and still present cultural history.

Matthew Pike, originally fromWilliamson, New York, is a 25 year oldgraduate of the University of MinnesotaCollege of Veterinary Medicine. He hasrecently accepted a job as a veterinar-ian at a small animal hospital in West-

Medicine from Page 1

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Eugene Sit

ern, New York.

JUNE 2007 > PAGE 7www.chinainsight.info education

Finally, Asian American history will havea permanent place with other prestigioushistorical collections at the University ofMinnesota. Among collections of scholarly

history, Sucheng Chan, professor emeritusof Asian American studies at UC SantaBarbra, will have her pioneering research andstudies safely kept at the University ofMinnesota’s Immigration History ResearchCenter (IHRC).

On April 26, 2007, the IHRC held a recep-tion honoring the years Chan dedicated toAsian American studies and thanking herfor her scholarly contribution to the center.

Dr. Chan was born in 1941 in Shanghai,China.When she was a child, she contractedpolio and pneumonia and could not walkuntil she was four years old. Her familymoved to Malaysia in 1950. Later, they movedsouth to settle in Singapore. In 1957,for herhealth and education purposes, the familyimmigrated to the United States.

In 1959 Chan enrolled to SwarthmoreCollege in Pennsylvania and graduated in1963 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Sheearned her master's degree from the Univer-sity of Hawaii in 1965, majoring in Asian Stud-ies. From 1965 to 1966 she conductedanthropological research and investigationin the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Shelater switched to study political science. In1973 she obtained a doctorate in politicalscience at the University of California, Ber-keley. Her thesis was entitled The longmarch: its historiography and politicalcontext. In the '60s and'70s, she actively par-ticipated in the civil rights movement andanti-Vietnam War campaign.

From 1971 to 1973, Dr. Chan was assis-tant professor of anthropology at the Uni-versity of California at Sonoma. In 1974, shereturned to the University of California, Ber-keley as an associate professor of the Asian-American Research Center. She was the deanof Oakes College at the University of Cali-fornia, Dakelushi, and the academic assis-tant for the Vice President in 1984. In 1988 inorder to have more time to concentrate onresearch and writing, she was the HistoryProfessor and the Director for Asian Ameri-can Research Program in 1988. After 1992she was a professor of Asian American Stud-ies and history.

Professor Chan is the author or editor ofseventeen books, including This Bitter-sweet Soil: The Chinese in California Agri-culture, 1860-1910 (1986), AsianAmericans: An Interpretive History (1991),Entry Denied: Exclusion and the ChineseCommunity in America, 1882-1943 (1991),Peoples of Color in the American West

(1993), Hmong Means Free: Life in Laos andAmerica (1994), Not Just Victims: Conver-sations with Cambodian Community Lead-ers in the United States (2003), Survivors:Cambodian Refugees in the United States(2004), In Defense of Asian American Stud-ies: The Politics of Teaching and ProgramBuilding (2005), and The Vietnamese Ameri-can 1.5 Generation: Stories of War, Revolu-tion, Flight, and New Beginnings (2006).Many of these books have won nationalawards.

She has dedicated her career to preserv-ing and writing Asian American history andto building Asian American Studies as a vi-brant intellectual field. In doing so, she hasleft an indelible mark on the field and in-spired generations of students and schol-ars.

Professor Chan was the recipient of the1997 Lifetime Achievement Award from theAssociation of Asian American Studies.

The professor announced that shewould be donating a portion of her AsianAmerican scholarship amassed over morethan 30 years. Chan will donate her printand published materials which include ThisBittersweet Soil: The Chinese in Califor-nia Agriculture, 1860-1910, Quiet Odys-sey: A Pioneer Korean Woman in America,Asian Americans: An Interpretive History,and much more. Daniel Necas, Library Pro-fessional of IHRC, said that there were morethan 15 boxes of books and materials do-nated by Professor Chan. Her contributionto the research center will be one of the larg-est collections by a woman.

Chan did not wish to have her materialsjust sit securely and untouched. After yearsof dedication to growing Asian Americanstudies, she now is determined to spreadthe study across other academic fields.

“We have to allow scholars, non-spe-cialists, to have access to our material,” saidChan. “My desire is to have scholarship onAsian American studies funnel out to re-lated disciplines.”

She hopes to see Asian American topicsbe regularly included in mainstream studies,such as psychology and sociology. She saidthat she would like to see researchers in otherfields to start including Asian American his-tory in their work.

Chan’s chose to donate her material tothe University of Minnesota not by chance.The professor’s connection to the univer-sity was important to her decision.

“Many collections like this usually comethrough personal connections,” said Donna

Eminent Asian American Studies scholarSuchen Chan donates collection to IHRCBy Albert Leung, Staff Writer

Gabaccia, IHRC director and professor ofhistory. “Sucheng Chan knew one of ourprofessors, Erika Lee who received her Ph.D.at Berkley as a former student of Sucheng.”

The IHRC was founded in 1965 and dedi-cated to advancing research on global mi-gration with a special emphasis onimmigration to the U.S.

It sponsors seminars, lectures and work-shops that bring specialized researchers fromthe academic world to expose their work toeach other, college and high school stu-dents, teachers, immigrant communities, eth-nic Americans and others. The center’sarchives and programs have been used byscholars at the University of Minnesota andfrom around the world.

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Rates are highly competitive.Contact Greg Hugh (952-472-4757,ads@chinainsight.info) or visitwww.chinainsight.info for moreadvertising information.

Sucheng Chan

Dr. Chan and Lisong Liu, GraduateResearch Assistant of IHRC

Daniel Necas, Professor Erika Lee and Dr. Chan

Books written and edited bySucheng Chan

Books and materials donated to theIHRC by Dr. Chan (about 15 boxes)

For more information on theImmigration History Research Center, visitwww.ihrc.umn.edu. !

www.chinainsight.info PAGE 8 > JUNE 2007 culture

The grand opening of the Chou-Chin Folk Art Festival was held atAn Shang Village on April 10,2007. Over 30,000 people attended

the festival on the first day. Government lead-ers from the provincial, municipal and countylevels delivered very encouraging speeches.Overseas visitors from 10 different countrieswere also present at the opening ceremony.This was the first folk art festival of its kindorganized by local farmers in the long his-tory of Northwest China.

A newly built Chou-Chin Folk Art Gal-lery in the village includes features of tradi-tional Chinese architecture and courtyard.

A spirit screen just beyond the front gate isa reminder of times past. The screen entranceleads into the courtyard where three groupsof life-size sculptures give a vivid descrip-tion of the past village life and culture. Abilingual description engraved on the backof the screen tells about the gallery.

The gallery consists of 10 exhibit rooms.They house nearly all major categories offolk art and crafts in the western part ofShaanxi Province, including paper cutting,clay sculpture, woodblock printing, lacquerpainting, shadow puppets, ladle masks,wheat straw pictures, cloth-work, embroi-dery, farmer paintings, replicas of 3000-year-old bronze ware, traditional Chineseink-and-water painting, calligraphy, andmore.

An Shang does not have any access tomountains and rivers, from which farmerscould make a living. However they live inthe middle of the well-known Land of BronzeCulture with a 3000 year history. The local

people have a fine tradition of hand-madearts for home decoration and gifts for vari-ous occasions. By living and working to-gether with Global Volunteers and hostingother American visitors during the past fiveyears, the farmers have exposed themselvesto western culture, and changed their tradi-tional concepts a lot. They have acceptedsome new ideas, and have broken throughtheir conventional concept of farming andweaving. As a result, they have decided toblaze a new trail to build a well-to-do villageby carrying forward their ancient civilizationby further developing their cultural prod-ucts.

During the week-long art festival, theyhad 16 shows of local opera performance,plus 2 puppet performances and one shadowshow which local people under 60 years ofage have never seen before. The old per-forming art so important to past lives was

revived! For the first time in village historywe had a large scale Buddhist scripturechanting performance during a festival. Thefestivities came to a very successful con-clusion with a 30-minute fireworks party on

Chou-Chin Folk Art Festival held inShaanxi

Festival at An Shang Village, Shaanxi, April 10-17, 2007By An-Wei, Sino-American Society, An Shang Village, China

April 17. Beginning with the first stage per-formance on April 9, the festival lasted for 9days.

Since this was the first folk art festivalinitiated and sponsored by the Chinese farm-ers themselves, 15 of the Chinese leadingmedia came to An Shang village to coverthis event, including CCTV whose crew offive stayed in the village for 8 days. Nearlyall the newspapers in Shaanxi Province pub-lished articles, news items and photos aboutthe festival. An internet search relating tothe opening of the An Shang Folk Art Festi-val produced thousands of items.

The success of the festival was also dueto the support and help from our friendsoverseas. Congratulatory messages camefrom political leaders and VIPs from theUnited States. They are-

* Michael D. Brown, Principal, James K.Polk Elementary School,

* Walter Mondale, former Vice Presidentof the United States,

* Mary Warpeha, President, USCPFAMN,

* Bob Chien, President, The Society forFriendship with China, Inc.,

* Sharon Crain, Trustee, China Institutein America,

* Dong Li, President, Shaanxi Associa-tion of Minnesota,

* Sheril Foster Bischoff, Trustee, HelenFoster Snow Literary Trust,

* Anthony E. Lorusso, Executive Direc-tor, Minnesota Trade Office,

* Carol Molnau, Lt. Governor of Minne-sota,

* James P. McGovern, Member of U.S.Congress,

* Joyce W. Cox, President, USCPFA Mid-west Region and President, USCPFA Kan-sas City Chapter,

* Colin Powell, former Secretary of State,* Janet Slaughter Eissenstat, Director,

White House Fellows,* Keith Hite, President, National Asso-

ciation of Towns & Townships,* Bud Philbrook, President and CEO,

Global Volunteers,(The above are listed according to the

receiving date)

The stage for the Opening Ceremony

Cheerful farmers at the Art Festival

Three Honorary Villagers

Sharon Crain interviewed

Helping to light smoking pipes

Night at the Folk Art Gallery

Learning embroidery from farmers

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JUNE 2007 > PAGE 9www.chinainsight.info cultureTwin Cities Chinese Dance CenterPerforms with Minhua ChorusBy Will Ahern, Staff Writer

Legends of the East reflects a spiritthat lies in the morality and characterthat Eastern people respect and pur-

sue. Colorfully adorned and well prepared,the Twin Cities Chinese Dance Center pre-sented “Legends of the East” on May 20th.The audience had the opportunity to experi-ence the joy and drama of the long and richhistory of the east. It featured a combina-tion of ethnic and folk dances as well assongs by the MinHua Chorus. The perform-ers some 90 strong, included the very youngpresenting a “Children’s Dance” to the “Fare-well My Concubine” portraying a hero’s lastmo ments on the battlefield and of legend-ary true love.

All the performances are memorable.Here are just a few:

“Moonlit Night on Spring River” per-formed by Clara Wong and accompanied byJiaxiang Li

“Rain of Bliss” performed by KrisitinePan

“Golden Snake Dance” performed byCindy Lu and Serena Lu

Mr. Qiang Yang, professionally trainedat the Beijing Dance Academy is the ArtisticDirector of the Twin Cities Dance Center hasbrought to together a dynamic show withenergetic performers. Please visit our Website at www.chinainsight.info to see a videowith highlights of the performance.!

PAGE 10 > JUNE 2007 www.chinainsight.infoeducation

LET US HEAR FROM YOUHave an observation or comment aboutsomething you read in CHINAInsight?

Write a Letter to the Editor

China CenterDirector finalistsspeak at publicforums

politics in 1986 from Peking University andIIR in China; and a Ph.D. in political sciencein 1994 from Duke University. Prior to hiscurrent faculty position, he was an instruc-

tor in the Department of Politics at WakeForest University and assistant professorof government at Morehead State Univer-sity.

Dr. Yongwei Zhang is director of inter-national programs and affairs, assistant vicepresident of research and economic devel-opment, and director of university programs

in Asia at Missouri State University (MSU).He is a tenured faculty member in the De-partment of Ge-o g r a p h y ,Geology, andPlanning. He isalso chairman ofthe Joint Man-agement Com-mittee at theMSU-LNU Col-lege of Interna-tional Business,MSU’s branchcampus built inc o o p e r a t i o nwith LiaoningNormal Univer-sity in Dalian, China. He received his B.S. in1982 and M.S. in 1984 in geography fromNortheast Normal University in Changchun,China, and a Ph.D. in 1990 in geography with

a concentration in natural resources plan-ning and management from Southern IllinoisUniversity at Carbondale. He was previouslyan assistant professor in the Department ofGeography at Valparaiso University.

The third candidate, Dr. Xun (George)Wang, withdrew from the search process atthe last minute. The candidates spoke at thepublic forum held Thursday, May 3 from 2:30-3:45 p.m. in the Carlson School of Manage-ment Building.More information about each of thefinalists is available at:http://www.chinacenter.umn.edu/director_search/

CHEMBA studentsvisit Minneapolis

The University of Minnesota CarlsonSchool of Management partners withLingnan (University) College, Sun Yat-senUniversity to offer the EMBA degree since2001. Mahmood Zaidi, Professor at theCarlson School of Management, is theCHEMBA academic director. Students take16 courses over 16 months and participatein a two-week residency in Minneapolis,where they visit Fortune 500 companies.Classes are held over the weekend to ac-commodate working professionals. Studentsalso have a chance to participate in a virtualteam project with their peers at other CarlsonSchool joint Global Executive MBA pro-grams in Warsaw, Vienna, and Minneapolis.Graduates receive a degree from the CarlsonSchool of Management at the University ofMinnesota. For the second consecutive year,in 2006, the Carlson School of Management’sChina Executive MBA (CHEMBA) programwas ranked first among joint executive MBAprograms in China, according to a poll of 10Chinese media organizations. The media rec-ognized the Carlson School program be-cause of its use of a global team of faculty,global management instruction, and strongalumni networking opportunities.

In May, the fifth class of China Execu-tive MBA students (CHEMBA 2007) trav-eled to Minneapolis to participate ingraduation with other Carlson School MBAstudents from around the globe. CAISS-MN(Chinese American Information Storage So-ciety Minnesota Chapter) hosted a lunchreception on May 6 at Little Szechuan Res-

taurant in St. Paul to welcome the 33 stu-dents from this class during their busy 2-week schedule in Minneapolis. This is thethird time CAISS-MN held this kind of ac-tivity jointly with the CHEMBA program.

The CHEMBA 2007 class is bigger thanever, the students are younger, and almostall of them hold top management positionsfrom business, commercial and technologi-cal companies from Guangzhou, Shenzhenand other South China areas. Also guestsfrom Seagate, Boston Scientific, Medtronic,Carlson School and the Tsinghua Univer-sity Alumni Association – Minnesota par-ticipated in this lunch reception.Representatives from China Insight andHuaxia Times talked with the organizer andCHEMBA students. Lauren Liu, ExecutiveDirector for CHEMBA program, organizedand led the trips for the past few years. Sheexpressed interested in working with ChinaInsight and Huaxia for possible businessforums along with CAISS-MN and otherMinnesota organizations and businesscommunity for future CHEMBA programstudents during their graduation visits. Af-ter the lunch, CHEMBA 2007 students vis-ited the State Capitol and presented a giftto CAISS-MN president Jianxin Zhu.

For more information, visit https://www.carlsonschool.umn.edu and click onExecutive MBA or visit http://www.caiss-mn.org.

Content and photos provided byCAISS-MN.

Editor’s Note: At press time, a new Directorhad not been named. Look to future issuesof China Insight for more coverage on thenew University of Minnesota China CenterDirector.

The University of Minnesota is seekinga director for the China Center. The searchis being led by Gene Allen, DistinguishedTeaching Professor and former associatevice president for international programs.

The University of Minnesota China Cen-ter director search committee has namedthree finalists for the position of director ofthe center.

The finalists visited campus separatelyand each spoke at a public forum on thetopic, “Bridges to China in the Next Decade:A Vision.” The public was invited to attenda presentation from each of the three final-ists when they visited campus in May.

Candidate Dr. Xiaobo Hu is professor ofpolitical science and director of the ChinaProgram at Clemson University. He receivedhis B.A. in international relations and En-glish in 1984 from the Institute of Interna-tional Relations (IIR) in China; an LL.M.degree in foreign constitutions and world

Yong Wei Zhang

Dr. Xiaobo Hu (left) with Fred andJennie Hsiao

Former China Center Director, Hong Yang (left), with candidate Yong Wei Zhang

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JUNE 2007 > PAGE 11www.chinainsight.info

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film

Now available on CHINAInsight’s Web site:Already awarded the Best Actress at the

13th Beijing Student Film Festival and theBest Artistic Contribution at the 18th TokyoInternational Film Festival, the Chinesemovie, Loach Is Fish Too directed by YangYazhou, was named one of the “Best of theFest” at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Interna-tional Film Festival in April.

The story of Loach is Fish Too is a po-tent look at a struggling woman from thecountryside named Loach. (A loach is a fishthat lives in the mud and feeds wheneverthere is opportunity). Loach (Ni Qiu), a re-cently divorced woman is moving from thecountryside to Beijing with her two twindaughters to earn money. On the train shemeets an older man who has the same nameas her, a contract laborer who tries to charmher with stories of the big house he'll get forher.

A headstrong woman with a strongsense of dignity, Ni Qiu rebuffs the man’ssexual advances but realizes that having a

Chinese filmproducer visits andcomments onaward-winning film

The Chinese Botanist’s Daughtersexamines themes of abandonment,loneliness and love

The Chinese Botanist’s Daughters, di-rected by Dai Sijie, who also directed Balzacand the Little Chinese Seamstress, wasshown April 24 and 26 at the Minneapolis/St.Paul International Film festival and was heldover as part of “Best of the Fest”.

The film takes place during 1980’s China.It was filmed in the North Vietnamese KanlinGorges because a Chinese production com-pany could not get authorization due to thecontent of the film. The story involves a youngwoman Win, an orphan, who is sent as a

trainee for a six week internship with a wellknown and respected botanist. The sternand unemotional botanist who is also ateacher, lives on a lush island with hisdaughter, An. The two girls quickly developa friendship that grows into love. Both ofthe women feel abandoned, lonely and un-loved. An’s mother died when she was achild and she has spent her life on the is-land with her father and the few studentsthat come and go. Win’s parents died in anearthquake in 1976.

Win’s stark beauty comes from her Rus-sian mother and Chinese father who bothtaught at a university. An’s brother, who isin the Army, arrives home from Tibet for avisit. He is encouraged by his father to courtWin, because as an Army man he should bemarried. Spurned at first, Win changes hermind when An tells her if she marries herbrother, who will return to Tibet, she andWin can be together forever. The lovelessmarriage takes place and there are disastrousconsequences.

By Loretta Minet, Asian Media Access

Although this film has a sad ending anddeals with sensitive issues, they are almostforgotten in the beauty of the filming. Thedirector and cinematographer use the lushsurroundings, lagoons, silhouettes and fil-tered low light to capture the erotic, forbid-den relationship between the two women.Sijie manages to take a sensitive subject andmake a beautiful film about abandonment,loss and love.

Exclusive interviewwith producer ofLoach is fish too,Nan Guangcheng

L to R: Richard He of China Insight, Bruce Jia, Publisher of Huaxia Timesand Nan Guangcheng

On April 28, representatives fromCHINAInsight and Huaxia Times had an ex-clusive interview with Nan Guangcheng,Chairman of Sihaitengfei Movie and Tele-play Cultural Medium Co., Ltd during hisbusy 4-day visit to the Twin Cities. As theproducer of the movie Loach Is Fish Too, hewas here to attend the Minneapolis/St. PaulInternational Film Festival. (See the articleby Bai Xue about the movie and the pressconference.)

Nan is a young energetic entrepreneur.He is also a board member of Chinese Na-tional Culture Promotion Committee and Vice-

Chairman of Daqing Beijing EnterpriseChamber of Commerce. He would like toproduce more movies and wants to attendthe Minneapolis/ St. Paul International FilmFestival in future years. He would like towork with CHINAInsight and Huaxia Timesto promote his movies and Chinese culturein the future.

View the interview at:www.chinainsight.info or atwww.chininsight.cn.

For more information about Nan andhis company, visit: www.shtf22.com.

By Bai Xuefriend in the big city might be useful. Theyget to Beijing, suffer various misfortunes,but always manage to get back on their feet.They share some laughs and fall in lovedespite mutual misgivings and the baggageof past relationships. As part of the mas-sive reconstruction crew rebuildingTiananmen Square district, they are ab-sorbed into thousands of fellow workersfrom the provinces clustered on danger-ous job sites.

Guangcheng Nan, the producer of thismovie, who has already accompanied thismovie to four film festivals in Tokyo, Spain,Italy and Canada, took the print to Minne-apolis on April 27. Since the copy of thefilm is still waiting for its visa, Nan arrivedalone to attend a small-scale press confer-ence ahead of time.

Either because the journalists attendedhad not seen the movie yet, or becauseNan, as the producer, was not as able toanswer art-related questions as the direc-tor would be, not many questions wereasked about the movies itself. However,Nan was asked why he was interested ininvesting in such a film, which deals withthe struggling life of migrant workers, atopic far from the popular ones like GongFu. With a shy grin, Nan told the mediathat he invested because he was moved;because he felt empathy. The once pooryouth from a small town in Northern part ofChina, who first made money in the con-struction industry, and the now CEO whoinvested US$700,000 in the production of amovie, Nan said he can see his past in theexperience of the male Ni Qiu in the movie.As soon as he finished reading the originalnovel, he decided that the story should behis first foray in the movie industry.

Movie industry development in Chinaand governmental regulation is still a topicof more interest than the movie itself orNan’s story. Questions were repeatedlyasked about the process of production,

how the Chinese government plays a role init, the process of distribution and how gov-ernment censorship may get in the way. AsChinese, I understand that Nan wouldn’t begood at making any comments about thegovernment in public, just as he wouldn’tbe good at making any comments about theartistic aspects of the movie as a producer.But he did provide some basic informationabout how he managed to produce this par-ticular movie, and thus opened the door ofgetting a glimpse of the movie industry inmainland China.

The US$700,000 invested in this moviewas all private money from Nan. Ever afraidof failure? We don’t know. But at least, hesaid he will continue to invest in movies evenif this little loach failed him. He told us thatthe only two ways of earning back the moneyis through box office and the prize moneyoffered by film festivals, Chinese govern-ment doesn’t have anything to do with themoney part. However, when he continuedto say that the government doesn’t haveanything to do when he tried to distribute

Producer continues on Page 12

Nan Guangcheng

PAGE 12 > JUNE 2007 www.chinainsight.infobusinessInvestment from Page 1

During this forum held by the Council ofGreat Lakes Governors, Lorusso and Lt. Gov-ernor Molnau gave a presentation on invest-ment opportunities in Minnesota to adelegation that included Madame MaXiuhong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of

Memorandum of Understanding

Commerce, People’s Republic of China andmore than 200 Chinese investors.

Commenting on current Chinese invest-ments in Minnesota, Lorusso noted thatthere are only two known businesses. Oneis a joint venture agreement between Laiwu

Steel and Cleveland Cliffs who are joint own-ers of the United Taconite mine in Eveleth.The second is Bright East Water Arts, a Chi-nese manufacturer of large water fountaindisplays, who has a sales office in the TwinCities. “We truly appreciate their invest-ment in Minnesota and we hope they willpave the way for additional Chinese invest-ment in Minnesota in the years ahead” statedLorusso, “And we hope that our new rela-tionship with the China Investment Promo-tion Agency will prove to be anothervaluable avenue of opportunity in Minne-sota.”

Concluding his remarks, Lorusso thenintroduced his boss and the state’s lead eco-nomic development official, Dan McElroy,Commissioner of the Department of Employ-ment and Economic Development.

The MOU is an important next step in atrade relationship with China that has growngreatly in size and scope since the statelaunched the Minnesota-China Partnershipinitiative two years ago, said CommissionerMcElroy. “While we have accomplishedmuch in the past two years, I know we cando even more, especially in the area of in-vestments,” he stated. “That’s why today’scommitment to promote investment is an im-portant milestone in our relationship. It’s aclear signal that we both are committed to afuture of mutual prosperity.”

The next speaker to be introduced byLorusso was Consul General Xu Jinzhong,Consulate General of the People’s Republic

of China in Chicago. This would be ConsulGeneral Xu’s last visit to Minnesota sincehe was concluding his 4 year assignmentand was returning to Beijing the followingTuesday. Delivering his remarks in English,Consul General Xu, expressed his supportof Minnesota and China continuing to de-velop trade relations and build upon the re-lationship that has been developed over theyears.

Representing the China Investment Pro-motion Agency (CIPA), Ministry of Com-merce, People’s Republic of China, wasDirector Liu Yajun. Although his remarks

were presented in Chinese, his interpretermade sure his message was properly trans-lated and clearly stated and that he was look-ing forward to this occasion as thebeginning of a new economic relationshipbetween Minnesota and China. He alsomade it a point to encourage the organizingof another trade mission that would evenexceed the 218 member state organized trademission that was lead by Governor TimPawlenty in 2005 which is still the largestsuch delegation to visit China by any otherstate.

The actual signing ceremony then wasconducted with Tony Lorusso, ExecutiveDirector of MTO representing Minnesotaand Yu Hua, Deputy Director General, CIPA,representing China, executing the appropri-ate documents for their respective govern-ments. The memorandum calls for theparticipants to agree to exchange generalinformation about laws, policies, proceduresand regulations governing foreign invest-ment; provide leads and referrals for poten-tial investment projects and assist potentialinvestment partners and, in general, to co-operate on a wide variety of investment pro-motional activities.

Following this signing ceremonyLorusso then invited the assembled groupto ask questions of any of the participants.One of the questions asked was whether ornot there was any kind of action plan thathas been developed to which the responsewas that this was just the beginning of acooperative arrangement and now both par-ties would develop plans to comply withthis MOU. As part of the response, Lorussoquoted, in Chinese, a famous Chinese say-ing, that states “A journey of a thousandmiles starts with a single step.” The MOUis the first step.

Other questions from the group involvedworking relationships with established or-ganizations and China’s efforts to learn andcooperate more with the United States towhich the Chinese representatives re-sponded that China will do its part to con-tinue to collaborate and congratulated theoverseas Chinese now residing in Minne-sota for establishing a good network of or-ganizations that can facilitate creating moreinvestments and business opportunities.

It should also be noted, according toLorusso, Minnesota is in select company.Chinese officials have entered into similaragreements with only four other states:Ohio, Virginia, South Carolina and NewMexico.

To view a video of the signing ceremony,visit the China Insight Web site atwww.chinainsight.info.

Consul General Xu Jinzhong (L) andGreg Hugh, Publisher of China Insight

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The official signing of the MOU, Tony Lorusso, Executive Director, MTO (L) withYu Hua, Deputy Director General, CIPA

JUNE 2007 > PAGE 13www.chinainsight.info business

ington, D.C. She highlighted China’s importregulatory issues, and answered questionsfrom audience members.

Collin Sun and Yi Yinn Lee -- are repre-sentatives of one of the world’s premier busi-ness parks (China-Singapore SuzhouIndustrial Park—SIP), The SIP is home tomany of the world’s largest corporations in-cluding several Minnesota companies. It isprominently mentioned in many articles andbooks written about China including "TheWorld is Flat". SIP is the largest coopera-tive project between the Chinese andSingapore governments. On Feb. 26, 1994,an agreement to jointly develop SIP wassigned between ex-Vice Premier Li Lanqingand ex-Senior Minister Lee Kwan Yew, rep-resenting the Chinese and Singapore gov-ernments respectively. Its commencementtook place on May 12, 1994. After more thana decade of development, SIP has becomeone of the fastest-growing and most com-petitive industrial development zones in theworld. This short introduction to SIP wasextremely valuable to the audience, espe-

Recent events held byUS-China Business Connections

Connie Wang

April Networking Event

Exporting to China

On Apr. 24, 2007 5-7 p.m., US-China Busi-ness Connections (UCBC) held a specialnetworking event at the Minneapolis Com-munity & Technical College.

Jorge A. Fernandez, Interim President ofUCBC, presided over the meeting. The eventincluded special talks by Jim Jochum andConnie Wang from the law firm of Mayer,Brown, Row & Maw, LLP in WashingtonD.C. It also included an introduction to theChina-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park(SIP), one of the world’s top ranking indus-trial parks, by their representatives: CollinSun and Yi Yinn Lee.

Jim Jochum is a partner at Mayer, Brown,Row & Maw, LLP and served as AssistantSecretary of Commerce for Export and Im-port Administrations during the Bush Ad-

ministration (2001-2005), co-chairing twoimportant working groups focused on facili-tating trade between China and the UnitedStates. He led the agency responsible forimplementing U.S. dual-use export controlsand authorizing the export of U.S. technol-ogy to China. In this capacity, Jochum washeavily involved in negotiating a new EndUse Visit Arrangement with the Chinese gov-ernment that facilitated increased U.S. ex-ports to Chinese high-tech firms. He talkedabout the latest and hottest developmentson Capitol Hill and in the Trade Bar in Wash-ington D.C.; analyzed the possibilities ofthose proposals; and advised the attendeesto prepare for possible trade policy changes.

Wenzhao (Connie) Wang served as thePress Officer for the Chinese President JiangZemin during his visit to Africa and as adiplomat at the Chinese Mission to theUnited Nations in New York. As an attor-ney at Mayer, Brown, Row & Maw, LLP,she provides strategic counseling and prac-tical advice to companies conducting busi-ness with China in the areas of governmentrelations, regulatory solutions, selection ofmanufacturing and sourcing partners andmarket entry in China. Since 2004, Wanghas served as Legal Counsel for ChinaMarketing Association, a nation-wide as-sociation in China. She was one of the re-cipients of the "Women to Watch Award"-- Women in Business 2006 by the Minne-apolis-St. Paul Business Journal. She wasthe former President of UCBC and instru-mental in the development of the UCBCorganization before she moved to Wash-

Jorge A. Fernandez, Interim President ofUCBC and Yi Yinn Lee of SIP

Jim Jochum

or equipment.About 30 people from different compa-

nies such as US Bank and Wells Fargo at-tended this meeting.

About UCBC

UCBC hosts monthly breakfast network-ing meetings with presentations on issuesrelating to doing business between the U.S.and China. The monthly meetings are sched-uled for the first Wednesday of the month at7:30 am. Check the calendar for details.

UCBC consists of individual entrepre-neurs, small and mid-sized businesses as wellas fortune 500 companies, who are currentlydoing business or seeking business oppor-tunities in China.

For more details, visit the Web site: http://www.ucbcgroup.org.

cially those who are currently or consider-ing manufacturing in China.

Approximately 40 people from differentcompanies such as Wells Fargo, US Bank,3M, Medtronic, Seagate attended this event.

May Networking Event

Importing & Exporting to China

On May 2, 2007, US-China BusinessConnections (UCBC) held its monthly break-fast networking meeting at the MinneapolisCommunity & Technical College.

Jim Smith, Director of UCBC, presidedover this meeting. The topic of this meetingis “Importing & exporting to China-- Bestpractices for best results” by Bonnie Ander-son, Partner at Dakos Services, LLC, spe-cializing in Consulting and Training forImport/Export Compliance and InternationalTrade. This presentation highlighted thebest practices for successful import/exportoperations and transactions. The do's anddon'ts of trade transactions with China thatcan benefit an operation whether it’s an ex-porter or an importer of goods, raw materials

Audience at UCBC event in April

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June Meeting

The China Medical DeviceIndustry - An outlineBrief introduction toSynaptic MedicalSophia Wang MD, MS, MBA

Founder, President and CEO of Synap-tic Medical, Sophia Wang has spent last 15years in cardiovascular field as a physician,scientist, marketer, investor and most re-cently an entrepreneur. Before starting Syn-aptic, Wang consulted with both Fortune500 companies and start-ups on investment,marketing, sales and fund-raising issues incardiovascular device field. Prior to that, sheheld marketing and business developmentpositions with Guidant (now Boston Scien-tific) and spear-headed a new device devel-opment program in neuro-stimulation areafor cardiac application for the company.Wang earned her degrees in clinical medi-cine, neural pharmacology and business ad-ministration in China and in the UnitedStates.

This event will be held Jun. 6, 2007 at7:30-9 a.m. at Minneapolis Community &Technical College. To make a reservation toattend, e-mail ucbcevent@gmail.com or callJim Smith at 612-865-6543 The cost is US$20 per person (college students free).

China signed a memorandum of under-standing with the Inter-American Develop-ment Bank (IDB), marking a substantial stepforward in its entry talks with the organiza-tion. By signing the document, inked byZhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People'sBank of China, and IDB President LuisAlberto Moreno in Guatemala City on Mar.18, a formal framework is established forChina's accession negotiations with the or-ganization. China first submitted its entryapplication to the group in 1993 and renewed

it in 2004.According to an IDB statement, both

sides agree to speed up the negotiatingprocess. If the negotiations proceedsmoothly, China will become theorganization's 48th member, the statementadded. The IDB, terming itself as theworld's oldest and largest regional devel-opment bank, was founded in 1959 to pro-mote economic and social development.

Source: U.S. Commercial ServiceChina, http://www.buyusa.gov/china/en

China signs Memorandum ofUnderstanding with IDB

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FACSS electsnew ExecutiveCommitteefor 2007-2008

The Friendship Association of Chi-nese Students and Scholars elected a newexecutive committee from 2007-2008 onApril 20, 2007. Bo Li, Lingtian Kong, andShu Hong have been elected by a major-ity vote as the new executive committeemembers. Bo Li has been elected as thenew President of FACSS from 2007-2008.Lingtian Kong is the new vice Presidentof FACSS from 2007-2008. Shu Hong isthe new Director of Entertainment ofFACSS from 2007-2008.

PAGE 14 > JUNE 2007 www.chinainsight.infobusiness

China moved [May 18] to speed up theappreciation of the yuan on currency mar-kets, widening the daily trading ban againstthe U.S. dollar in a development followingkey U.S.-Chinese talks on [May 15].

The People's Bank of China announcedit would allow the yuan to trade by as muchas 0.5 percent on either side of the daily fix-ing rate against the dollar, widening therange from the previous 0.3 percent tradespan, the official Xinhua agency reported.

The report said the move would 'permitfaster gains in the currency.'

The move comes amid tensions betweenChina and the United States and Europe overthe huge Chinese surplus in trade. Beijing'scritics charge that the low value of the yuanis a major contributing factor to the imbal-ance in trade by making Chinese exportscheaper and imports of foreign goods inChina more expensive.

China last year chalked up a huge 177billion dollar trade surplus, a whopping 74percent above the 2005 figure.

On [May 15], U.S. Treasury SecretaryHenry Paulson and Chinese Deputy PremierWu Yi held strategic talks in Washington

China moves tospeed up yuanrevaluation

amid demands from the U.S. side for tangibleprogress on the currency rate issue.

The yuan has appreciated by some 7percent since July 2005, but China's criticssay that the currency continues to be wellundervalued.

Meanwhile the central bank also took afurther step to try to cool down China'sbooming economy with its fourth rate hikesince April 2006 and the eighth reserve re-quirement hike since June 2006.

The bank decided to raise the one-yeardeposit rate by 0.27 percentage point to 3.06percent and the lending interest rate by 0.18points to 6.57 percent starting May 19,Xinhua reported.

It also raised banks' reserve requirementratio by 0.5 percentage points to 11.5 per-cent as of June 5.

Despite previous rate increases, the Chi-nese economy has continued to surgeahead, with an 11.1 percent growth recordedin the first quarter this year.

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/business/news/article_1306167.php

"China intends to provide about US$20billion in infrastructure and trade financingto Africa during the next three years, eclips-ing many of the continent's traditional bigdonors by a single pledge.

The scale of China's accelerating finan-cial flows were revealed to the FinancialTimes on [May 17] by Donald Kaberuka,president of the African Development Bank(AfDB). The sums involved are beginningto outstrip individual contributions from tra-ditional donors, including multilateral devel-opment agencies. Their combined pledges -towards a special fund intended to assistsub-Saharan Africa to tackle shortfalls inelectricity supply, roads and other infrastruc-ture - are about US$7 billion, Kaberuka saidin an interview with the [Financial Times].

The US$20 billion would go partly to-wards projects already announced, includ-ing the rehabilitation of railway networks inAngola and Nigeria, and the building of ahydroelectric dam in Ethiopia. Kaberuka, aformer Rwandan finance minister, said Chi-nese premier Wen Jiabao had assured him

China pledgesUS$20 billion forAfrica

China was alert to the dangers of a new debtpile-up. But the Chinese took a longer-termapproach to debt sustainability, he said. 'Thechairman of the Exim bank used a word whichis very interesting. He said: 'Yes, debtsustainability is important but developmentsustainability is what we are after'.'" [TheFinancial Times (UK)]

AFP adds that ". AfDB spokesman EricChinje said the figures were an estimation.'It is rough estimate of what Exim bank offi-cials told president Kaberuka they wantedto invest over the next three to five years,including concessionary loans,' Chinje toldAFP when asked to comment on the report.

The lending by Exim Bank, one ofChina's policy banks that channels fundsearmarked to support state development,comes on top of China's previously an-nounced US$5 billion development fund forAfrica, Chinje said. The report came afterthe end [May 17] of the annual AfDB meet-ing, which was held in Shanghai this yearand in Asia for the first time." [AgenceFrance Presse/Factiva]

Source: World Bank

China is likely to replace the UnitedStates as the world's third most popular tour-ism destination next year, a United NationsWorld Tourism Organization (UNWTO) of-ficial said.

At present, China ranks fourth, afterFrance, Spain and the United States.

Last year, China accounted for 5.8 per-cent of the global tourism market, a growthof 0.3 percent compared with two years ago.

Twenty-nine percent of tourists whotraveled to Asia and the Pacific last yearalso visited China.

Xu Jing, regional representative for Asiaand the Pacific of UNWTO, said the marketshare percentages of China and the UnitedStates last year were very close.

"I am confident China will overtake theU.S. next year," he said at the 2007 China

China to becomethird biggest traveldestination

(Qingdao) International Olympics & Tour-ism Forum, which concluded on May 18.

UNWTO forecast last year that Chinawould become the most popular destinationby the year 2020. At the beginning of thisyear, it revised its forecast to 2015. Xu saidthe forecast was revised because of the rapiddevelopment of the country's tourism indus-try.

The number of overseas travelers toChina has increased from 10.5 million in 1996to 49 million in 2006. The 2008 Summer Olym-pics in Beijing and the 2010 World Expo inShanghai will further boost China's tourismmarket.

The Pacific and Asia Travel Associationsaid inbound tourism to China will increaseby 5 percent year-on-year between 2007 and2009.

The Wall Street Journal writes that"China's government can't agree on howtofix its ailing health-care system - throughprivate competition or more state services -and has turned to the World Health Organi-zation, the World Bank, McKinsey & Co.and others for advice.

Chinese planners face two main prob-lems: Health care is unaffordable for mostChinese, and the care people do get often isinadequate. Many people must pay forhealth care themselves, and if they can'tcome up with the money, they are turnedaway at the hospital door. There is little over-sight of medical services, and hospitalsthrive on prescription-drug sales, often dol-ing out unnecessary drugs to turn a profit.

The nation's Communist governmentonce tended to the health of almost every-one. Now it spends relatively little, after aprivatization program in the early 1980sshifted the burden of paying for doctor vis-

China seeks adviceon health overhauls

its and drugs onto individuals. In 2004, pri-vate spending accounted for 64 percent ofhealth-care expenditures in China. For sev-eral years, the government has said it is com-mitted to increasing state spending to makesure everyone has access to good care. Thequestion is where to direct that money, asgovernment agencies vie for more fundingand control.

"China's top economic-planning agency,the National Development and Reform Com-mission, invited seven groups to weigh inand help break the deadlock. On health-careoverhauls, the NDRC solicited input fromPeking,University, Fudan University, BeijingNormal University and the Chinese cabinet'sdevelopment-research center, in addition toWHO, World Bank and McKinsey, accord-ing to the person familiar with the matter."[The Wall Street Journal/Factiva]Source: World Bank

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China's software industry continued toexpand during the first four months of thisyear, with business income up 28 percent onthe previous year, the Ministry of Informa-tion Industry said on [May 25].

The sources said the sector garneredUS$18.6 billion in revenue between Januaryand April.

Of the total, software products ac-counted for US$6.6 billion, up 27.9 percent,and system integration, covering IC designand solution design, US$4.5 billion, up 27.7

China's softwareindustry posts 28percent growth

percent.In recent years China has tried to

boost the development of its softwareservices but the share of this sector inthe total income of the software industrywas down 6.6 percent compared with the2006 level.

The first four months witnessed acontinued imbalance between softwareproducts, system integration and soft-ware services, industry sources said.

Source: Xinhua

is not so controversial as to encounter cen-sorship. In China, people are free to pro-duce whatever movies as long as they havethe money to do so. The scrutiny from thegovernment comes when attempts are madeto distribute the films to major theaters.However, officials in China’s State Admin-istration of Radio, Film and Television won'tbother with, or ban everything.

For example, take another Chinese moviein the Minneapolis film festival—SummerPalace for instance, Constant showing ofnudity and sex? Check. Politically incorrecteven of Tian’an Men square? Check. Sobanned! That is not to say that the decisionwas right, or wrong, but at least it showsthat there are rules to follow.

However, not being banned does notmean life will be easier for independentmovies like Loach Is Fish Too. Major the-aters in China are basically occupied bythree kinds of movies. First, domestic mov-ies like Hero or Curse of the Golden Flower,the directors of which have many connec-tions with governmental officials, and aremore favored by them. Secondly, HongKong movies which are forever popularamong young people. And finally, Holly-wood blockbusters which are foreverpopular among almost all audiences. Toearning money back through box office islike a dream. So what is left to do to earnmoney off the film? Attend film festivals!

censorship?”Yes, where is the censorship? Nan

didn't give an answer, but the only ex-planation I can think of is that the movie

Producer from Page 13

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www.chinainsight.info JUNE 2007 > PAGE 15

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China to ride economic wave

China making a greater effortsto protect Intellectual PropertyRights

U.S. companies welcomeChina's new law on corporateincome tax

Information and communication tech-nologies (ICT) are vital to managing China’sunprecedented growth challenges, accord-ing to a new World Bank studytitled “China’s Information Revolution:Managing the Economic and Social Trans-formation.” This report, the first to compre-hensively map out China’s current ICTlandscape, provides a forward-looking as-sessment of the state of the country’s ICTpreparedness.

China has the world’s largest telecom-munications market and its IT industry hasbeen an engine of the country’s economicgrowth—growing two to three times fasterthan GDP over the past 10 years. However,as China’s development has entered a newstage, it requires an updated“informatization” strategy to reflect the cur-rent economic and social challenges as wellas opportunities. If China is to reap the fullbenefits of ICT, the report says, it needs todeal decisively with several key issues.

“China is serious about putting in placea good foundation for equitable and sus-tainable economic growth” said Jim Adams,World Bank Vice President for the East Asiaand Pacific region. “This report reinforceshow important to that effort is a wellthought-out ICT strategy that brings thebenefits of the online world closer toeveryone’s daily lives.”

The report says that legal and regula-tory reforms are urgently needed in areassuch as telecommunications, open accessto government information, data protectionand privacy. A stark urban-rural divide inaccess to telecommunications infrastructureputs internet penetration 40 times higher inurban areas compared to rural. The reportalso says the domestic ICT industry needsmore innovation so that it moves up thevalue chain and beyond production of low-end products and applications. Currently,software exports account for just 1-2 per-cent of China’s total IT industry exports –

reflecting China’s comparative strength inIT manufacturing and weakness in softwaredevelopment. Furthermore, only 16 percentof teachers in China have ICT training, re-sulting in a major shortage of skilled ICTworkers. ‘Brain drain’ further exacerbates thissituation.

According to the report, China alsostands to benefit from expanding into e-gov-ernment as online applications could makegovernment functions more service-ori-ented, efficient and transparent. Rural areasin particular can benefit from online infor-mation services. Fostering e-business canboost productivity, increase technologicalinnovation and enhance international com-petitiveness of Chinese enterprises. A 2004Ministry of Commerce survey of 838 firmsfound that 58 percent of those that had par-ticipated in e-commerce increased their num-ber of supplier contacts, while 70 percentincreased their number of client contacts.

“Given the cross-cutting nature of ICT,government decisions about ICT can alsobe seen as decisions on the course of theeconomy as a whole” said Mohsen Khalil,Director of the World Bank Group’s GlobalICT Department. “The issues affectingChina’s ICT policies and strategies are simi-lar to those faced in other sectors. The rapidpace of technology development just meansthat ICT issues are being addressed beforeother problems, and that the effects of ICTdevelopment will be felt throughout the en-tire economy.”

For more information on the report, visitwww.worldbank.org/chinaict

To learn more about the World Bank inChina, visit www.worldbank.org/china

For more information on the WorldBank’s Global ICT Department, visitwww.worldbank.org/ict

Permanent URL for this page: http://go.worldbank.org/OO6P85TNU0

Stephen Roach, the chief internationaleconomist for U.S. investment bank Mor-gan Stanley, delivered a speech to the U.S.Congress. He emphasizes that the key toimproving the U.S. trade imbalance withChina should not simply be criticism ofChina. The focus should be on China mak-ing a greater effort to protect intellectualproperty rights and push forward financialreform while the United States should en-courage people to put more in their savingsaccounts, invest more in human resources,

and reform the education system. Roach criti-cizes statements by Ben Bernanke, chairmanof the U.S. Federal Reserve, that China'scurrent exchange rate policy actually subsi-dizes its export companies. Bernanke's viewhas been widely accepted in the political andbusiness community in the United States.

Source: U.S. Commercial Service China,http://www.buyusa.gov/china/en

Summary provided by Sinofileh t tp : / /www.s inof i l e .ne t / com/amc/sfContact.html

Harley Seyedin, president of the Ameri-can Chamber of Commerce in South China,Mar. 15 said U.S. companies investing inSouth China welcome China's new law oncorporate income tax, which unifies the dual-track tax rates for Chinese and foreign enter-prises. Seyedin says the new tax law will notaffect the investment of U.S. companies inthe southern part of China. Seyedin hopesthe Chinese government will provide a tran-sition period for U.S. investors in China for

the new policy. Zou Chunyi, governmentaffairs director of P&G China, says the com-pany is satisfied with the investment envi-ronment in South China and will keepGuangzhou as the headquarters for itsGreater China operations.

Source: U.S. Commercial Service China,http://www.buyusa.gov/china/en

Summary provided by Sinofile:h t tp : / /www.s inof i le .ne t /com/amc/sfContact.html

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business

PAGE 16 > JUNE 2007 www.chinainsight.infocommunity

Local artist to unveil artworkat Dragon Festival 2007

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Seexeng Lee

July 14-15, Phalen Park, St. Paul

Local emerging Hmong artistSeexeng Lee will be unveiling apainting titled “Unity in Diversity” to the accompaniment of an

original composition by the same name bylocal Asian Pacific musicians under the di-rection of Rick Shiomi, artistic director ofMu Performing Arts, at this year’s DragonFestival on Sunday, July 15 at Phalen Park,St. Paul.

Dragon Festival, the all-volunteer runnonprofit organization that puts on the an-nual two-day Pan-Asian celebration, larg-est in the Greater Twin Cities area, wasawarded a US$14,000 Cultural STAR (SalesTax Revitalization Program) Grant from theCity of St. Paul for Seexeng Lee’s art project.

“Unity in Diversity” is a large-scale (5’ x8’) relief painting showing five hands in dif-ferent colors putting pieces of the State to-gether. One of the pieces represents theCity of St. Paul, where the Dragon Festivaltakes place. A 24K gold leaf ribbon with thewords “We Are One” in different Asian lan-guages is woven in and out to depict andreflect the unique characteristics of the dif-ferent ethnicities. According to Lee, thispainting, commissioned by the Dragon Fes-tival, is the embodiment of the spirit of theFestival that aims to unite the various AsianPacific communities within the Twin Cities.

Lee plans to have Festival participants puttheir own mark on and help complete thepiece by painting a small piece of the paint-ing.

The use of gold leaf isa signature of Lee’s works.In Hmong culture, gold,silver and currency showvalue. “I choose impor-tant symbols and subjectsthat best represent Hmongculture and combine themwith the best visual artstyle in hopes of enlight-ening my viewers. Thetechnique I chose to usewas gold leafing,” hesays.

Lee’s first “canvas”was a dirt floor in Laos andhis “brushes” werewooden sticks. When hisfamily immigrated to the United States in the1984, he realized the best way to communi-cate was through art. However, his parentswanted “bigger and better” things for himand art did not fit that category in the Hmongculture. Lee’s solution to satisfy his owninterest and his parents’ wishes was to teachart! Armed with degrees in Studio Art andSecondary Education, Lee has been teach-

ing since 1997.The Cultural STAR Grant, funded with

10 percent of a half-cent citywide sales taxcreated by the Minnesota State Legislature

in 1993 to support eco-nomic development in theCity of Saint Paul, pro-motes “growth in SaintPaul by strengthening thearts and cultural sector…”

“Awarding theDragon Festival the Cul-tural STAR Grant is trulyan affirmation of the City’scommitment to the arts andto diversity. We applaudthe City,” said Evelyn Lee(no relation to artistSeexeng Lee), chair of theDragon Festival.

The musical composi-tion, also titled “Unity in

Diversity” is funded by a grantfrom the Min-nesota State Arts Board. A select group oflocal Asian musicians under the direction ofRick Shiomi, artistic director of Mu Perform-ing Arts, with Mr. Zhang Ying as leadcomposer, are working on a piece using vari-ous Asian instruments. It will be approxi-mately 20 minutes long.

Other highlights of this year’s two-dayFestival include:* Opening ceremony at noon, Saturday, July14 which includes a dragon dance, blessingthe boats and teams by Thai monks, storyof the dragon boat races and “awakening”the dragon; immediately followed by* A reenactment of a traditional IndonesianMinangkabau wedding where the bride isdecked out in highly ornate headdress andclothes trimmed in gold. Minangkabau, “vic-torious buffalo,” is a Muslim tribe in WestSumatra, the largest island in Indonesia. TheMinangkabau tribe is one of a handful oftribes in the world that is truly matriarchal.* Dragon boat races* Free canoe rides, courtesy of WildernessInquiry* A Community Village where visitors canview cultural displays, chat with represen-tatives from different cultural organizationsto learn about the different cultures, andwatch craft demonstrations.* Cultural performances ranging from Mon-golian acrobats to Chinese guzheng play-ers to Japanese dancers* Wide variety of martial arts demonstra-tions including Thai, Chinese* Authentic ethnic foods and merchandisefor sale* Supervised children craft activities

Festival organizers are arranging freeoff-site parking with shuttle service to thepark. The two-day event is free to the pub-lic, thanks to the generosity of our spon-sors: Allianz, Ameriprise Financial, Clearway,HRK, Qwest, State Farm, Target, and WellsFargo.

For details about the festival and to seephotos from past festivals, please visitwww.dragonfestival.org.

Fred Shaw receives 2007 InternationalImmigrant Acheivement Award

The Twin Cities International CitizenAwards Host and SteeringCommittee awarded Fred Shaw the

2007 International Immigrant AchievementAward. The Annual Gala Awards event washeld Wednesday, April 25, 2007 at the Min-neapolis Club where Mr. Shaw was honoredalongside Walter and Joan Mondale (Inter-national Citizens Award) and Marilyn Carlsonof the Carlson Companies (International Cor-porate Award).

Founded in 1992, the Twin Cities Inter-national Citizen Awards recognize individu-als and corporations in our community whohave made inspiring contributions to inter-national understanding, cooperation andmutual respect. It is given to those that have

Fred Shaw (Hsiao) and his wife JennieHsiao surrounded by sons and theirsignificant others (L to R: Yu Wen Mui,Holden Hsiao, Fred Hsiao, Jennie Hsiao,Howell Shaw, Nina Yang Shaw, Hoyt Hsiao,Zhen Zhen Lou)

made clear and ex-emplary contribu-tions to local andglobal communi-ties; demonstrate astrong commitmentto international un-derstanding andcooperation; andlive out mutualityand respect in rela-tion with othercountries andpeoples.

In his accep-tance speech, Mr.Shaw thanked hisFather, the People of

Minnesota, Orville E.Madsen, Lyle Lundquist,Tom Meyers and JohnSjoberg, Hoyt Hsiao, andhis wife Jennie Hsiao forall the support and loyaltythey have shown him.Without them, he wouldnot be where he is today.

About the Twin CitiesInternational CitizenAwards

The Awards were firstgiven in 1992, hosted bythe Mayor of Minneapo-

lis. In 1996, the Mayor of St. Paul joined andin 1997 the Commissioners of Hennepin andRamsey Counties also became hosts. Today,the International Leadership Institute over-sees this annual international recognitionevent. Visit www.internationalleadership.org/news.html for more information on pastevents.

About the International LeadershipInstitute

Founded in 1994, the International Lead-ership Institute is a fully qualified non profitorganization committed to providing re-sources to communities of color in transi-tion - locally and globally. Located at 403Oak Grove in Minneapolis. Web site iswww.internationalleadership.org.

About Shaw-Lundquist Associates,Inc.

Shaw-Lundquist is a Leading GeneralContractor in the Metro Area. They are alsothe largest Minority-owned Contractor inthe Midwest and are the largest Asian-owned Contractor in the Nation. They pro-vide General Construction, ConstructionManagement at Risk, Agency ConstructionManagement and Design-Build construc-tion services, and are proven performers onlarge and complex projects. Started in 1974by Fred Shaw, the company has grown toover US$80 million in revenues in fiscal 2005.For more information, visitwww.shawlundquist.com.

Fred Shaw (Hsiao) and his sonHowell Shaw

ILI 2007 Award Recipients: Walter and Joan Mondale ,Marilyn Carlson and Fred Shaw and

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