|
Security and the Olympics
We attach a letter from the British Embassy outlining the arrangements and situation during the Beijing Olympics 2008. Click here for further information.
Annual Summer Reception Thursday 26th June 2008 at 18.00hrs
City of London Club, 19 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1DS
CBBC's Annual Summer Reception is one of the highlights of the CBBC year. It is CBBC's largest networking event for CBBC members, senior officials from the Embassy of the People's Republic of China, the British Government (including UK Trade & Investment and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) and Members of Parliament. In 2007 nearly 300 professionals with China interests attended. Places are now very limited so don't miss this opportunity to meet key executives involved in UK-China trade and investment.
A raffle will take place during the reception and prizes to be won include: Return Business Class Flights to Hong Kong; Centre Court Hospitality Tickets at Wimbeldon and £100 restaurant voucher. All proceeds from the raffle ticket sales will be donated to the Chinese Embassy fund for donations to the Sichuan Earthquake Appeal.
To ensure you do not miss out on the biggest CBBC member networking event of the year, please click here. Please note that this is a CBBC member only event.
Sichuan Earthquake Fundraising Evening, 2nd June 2008, 18.00 - 20.00
On May 12th an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck Sichuan Province. The earthquake has so far tragically claimed the lives of 67,183 people in Sichuan, with a further 20,790 people still missing. 361,822 people have been injured and over 5 million people have been left homeless.
The China-Britain Business Council and 48 Group Club will hold a fundraising evening on Monday, 2nd June 2008 from 18.00 to 20.00 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London. This is an opportunity for the British community to gather and show support to those tragically affected by this catastrophe. The evening will comprise a number of musical performances from both Chinese and British acts.
There will be short speeches from Sir David Brewer CMG, Chairman of CBBC, and a representative of the 48 Group Club. H.E Mme Fu Ying, Ambassador to the People's Republic of China will also attend.
After the performances a cash bar will be available for attendees to purchase drinks and mingle.
The ticket price is £50 (+ VAT). All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Chinese Embassy fund for donations to the earthquake. We should like to thank the Grosvenor House Hotel for kindly providing the venue for the evening free-of-charge.
Please feel free to forward this invitation to colleagues, family and friends.
To join us please complete the payment form and return it to Duncan Levesley at CBBC, 1 Warwick Row, London SW1E 5ER, by fax: 020 7802 2029, or email: (duncan.levesley@cbbc.org), no later than Friday, 30th May.
Please click here to download the form. Confirmation will be sent to you once your place has been successfully secured.
Outline Programme
1800
Doors open
1815
Introductory remarks from:
· Sir David Brewer CMG, Chairman of CBBC
· H.E Mme Fu Ying, Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China
· Keith Bennett Chairman of the 48 Group Club Awards Committee
1830-1930
Performances from:
Nic Greenshields , Alternate Phantom, Phantom of the Opera
Nic will be singing two songs from Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. Nic trained at Laine Theatre Arts on a scholarship. On graduation he was awarded the college prize for singing and musical theatre.
Theatre includes: Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Woods (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden), The Beast and Gaston in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (UK tour), Munkustrap in Cat s (UK and European tour), Brujon and understudy Javert in Les Misérables (Palace and Queen’s), Del Copeland in The Beautiful Game (Cambridge Theatre), Valentin Dessose in Lautrec (Shaftesbury), The Man in Whistle Down the Wind (Churchill Theatre), GI Webber in Miss Saigon (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), Big Mac in Only You Can Save Mankind (Soho Theatre) and Emcee in Cabar et (Kenn et h More Theatre).
Concerts and workshops include: West End Laine (Aldwych), tenth anniversary of Miss Saigon (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane ), Andrew Lloyd Webber – A Celebration (Royal Albert Hall), Sheherezade, Picture of Dorian Gray (Actors Centre) and Hey, Mr Producer! (Jean Ann Ryan).
Film and radio include: De-Lovely (MGM Pictures), King Street Junior, Green Acres and Solomon’s Dream (all BBC).
The String Trio
Flute and Drum at Sunset (Classical Civil Suite)
Jasmine Flower (Southeast Folk Melodies)
Moving Up (Cantonese Music)
Winner of PRS Awards for Performance Groups 2007
The Silk String Trio players are from the Award Wining Silk String Quartet - an exciting professional Chinese string group based in the UK. Established in 2006, the group has been invited to perform on the prestigious stages of world music at WOMEX 2006 in Spain, and at WOMAD 2007 both in the UK and in Gran Canaria. In addition to performing widely in Europe (Holland, Germany, France, Spain and Ireland), the Quartet’s UK appearances have included such venues as London’s Royal Opera House, Southbank Centre and Duke’s Hall, St George’s in Bristol and the Manchester, Brighton and Guildford Festivals.
The Silk String Quartet’s debut CD (by ARC Music) has been highly acclaimed and was featured by BBC Radio 3. Other projects have included shows with the acclaimed 2007 opera-circus spectacular “Monkey: Journey to the West” (with Blur/Gorillaz singer Damon Albarn), in Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet and further tours. The Quartet’s 2008 projects include a 20-concert UK tour in the spring, and appearances at festivals in Europe as well as a tour with the cellist Matthew Barley featuring Peter Wiegold’s compositions, and concerts with the Chamber Music Company, and a collaborative project between the Quartet and Lang Lang (Chinese Piano Star) with the London Symphony Orchestra in April 2009. For more information, visit www.ukchinesemusic.com or email chengyu@ukchinesemusic.com
Guzheng (21-stringed zither) solo - Sun Zhuo
Temple Fair at Xiang Mountain
Sun Zhuo, a professional guzheng player, holds BMus. and MMus degrees in zheng performance from the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing and is now a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at SOAS, University of London, researching guzheng music. Born in Xi’an, China, Zhuo learned the zheng as a child from her mother Qu Yun, a well-known representative player of the Qinzheng style (Northwest China). She gained the degrees of Bmus in 1998 and Mmus in 2001 on guzheng performance at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and. In May 2001, her solo concert in the Beijing Concert Hall was highly acclaimed and was broadcast on China Central Television. She is actively involved in contemporary music performances in the UK and has published several CD and VCD albums of zheng music.
Elegant Entertainment
3 exceptional British singers will sing classical hits made famous by El Divo and Pavarotti.
Erhu (2-stringed fiddle) solo - Wang Xiao
The Moon reflected in the Second Fountain
Wang Xiao began learning to play the erhu when she was six years old and graduated from the Wuhan Conservatory of Music. In 1999 she joined the Headquarters Arts Troupe of the Henan Provincial People’s Armed Police as its erhu soloist. In 2001 she took part in the Luoyang Casio Young Instrumentalists Competition, where she won a Silver Prize, and in the same month a Gold Prize as an erhu soloist in the Henan Provincial “Hundred Fountains Cup” Young Instrumentalists Competition. In the same year she represented the People’s Armed Police as erhu soloist in the Henan Provincial Arts Festival, and was well received. Before going abroad she was erhu and banhu soloist with the Luoyang Symphony Orchestra. She has given many performances since arriving in the UK.
Pipa (4-stringed lute) solo - Cheng Yu
Dragon Boat (Traditional style)
Cheng Yu is an internationally renowned pipa virtuoso and former soloist at the China Central Orchestra of Chinese Music. She holds BMus. (China), MMus and PhD (SOAS, University of London) degrees in pipa performance and ethnomusicology. She is the founder of the UK Chinese Music Ensemble (1998), the London Youlan Qin Society (2003) and the Silk String Quartet (2006). Born in Beijing, Cheng Yu learnt the pipa from the age of 7 and graduated with distinction at the Xi’an Conservatory of Music. In 1987, she was selected as a pipa soloist in the prestigious Central Orchestra of Chinese Music in Beijing. Since the 1990s she has been based in London and currently teaches the pipa and guqin and researches at SOAS, University of London. She appears regularly at various venues in the UK, has held concerts in over 40 countries worldwide and has released five solo albums and many collaborative CDs.
Kingsford Community School
Two students from Kingsford Community School, the first school in the UK to introduce Mandarin for All, will give musical performances on the saxophone and guitar.
China Disabled Performing Arts Troupe
We will be delighted by a stunning performance from the China Disabled Performing Arts Troupe who has presented stunning "One Thousand Hands Guan Yin" and who are in the UK for the ‘My Dream’ Debut Tour . The Troupe has received critical acclaim from around the world. The founder of the Troupe says, despite disabilities we pursue perfection and as a performance the show is world class, with several masterpieces of dance and virtuous musical performances, joined through stunning scenery, costumes and creativity. The New York Times called My Dream unbelievable, while CNN said it was inconceivable.
Other acts to be confirmed.
1930-2000
Cash bar available and opportunty to mingle
China Earthquake Disaster Appeal
Donation or assistance to the earthquake in China can be made through:
The Chinese Embassy
Donations to the earthquake relief effort in China can be made through the Chinese Embassy in the UK which has opened a special account with Bank of China (UK). Please click here for further information.
China Children and Teenagers’ Fund
China Children and Teenagers’ Fund is a registered UK charity and the first operational charity established outside of China, by China’s oldest charity China Children & Teenagers’ Fund (CCTF). CCTF supports disadvantaged children in China in the neediest places and helps fight poverty and disease, improve health care and give economic and cultural opportunity to children and young people through extraordinary education and social enterprise projects. CCTF is a first port of call for international agencies seeking to support charitable projects or disaster relief in China. (UK Charity Registration No 1098837)
CCTF and its employees in China donated $250,000 (CN¥ 2million) within the first 24 hours after the quake hit Sichuan, helping with immediate medical and shelter needs. CCTF in the UK are now appealing for funds for the restoration of schools and orphanages in devastated areas. Please support our efforts.
Donation can be made through CCTF’s Justgiving online transaction system. As a UK tax payer an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift to our charity at no cost of you (Gift Aid). For the Earthquake Appeal online donation page, please click here. Meanwhile CCTF has newly launched a China Earthquake Appeal page on their website, please click here for the page.
The scale of the disaster is only now becoming known as remote areas affected by China’s May 12 earthquake the most devastating since 1976 and measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale reveals further extensive loss of life and damage. CCTF is at the forefront of relief efforts to restore schools and orphanages, desperately needed to bring hope. CCTF’s efforts complements the work of other agencies focussed on short term shelter, medical and food relief.
Please forward the links to your colleagues, business associates or friends in the UK to help CCTF raise as much as possible funds to support our charity's effort in disaster relief, school and orphanage restoration in particular.
China Earthquake Update
As the extent of the damage caused by yesterday’s earthquake in South West China becomes clearer, please be advised that the CBBC offices in Chengdu & Chongqing will remain closed for the time being. Thankfully colleagues in both locations are unharmed, but contact with them is difficult. If you need to get in touch with CBBC staff in either Chengdu or Chongqing, please contact Brian Outlaw in our Beijing office on Tel: +86 10 8525 1111 or at: brian.outlaw@cbbc.org.cn
Travel to and from the affected area is likely to be disrupted for some time and you are advised to postpone any immediate plans to travel to the region. For more advice on the current situation, visit: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/travel-advice-by-country/asia-oceania/china
The British Embassy in Beijing has also issued the following statement: “We are aware of reports of missing British nationals in Sichuan province. We are currently seeking to establish the whereabouts of the missing persons who have been notified to us. We are contacting every number that we have, including UK mobiles and hotels in the area, but are not yet able to get through.
We are in close contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and China International Travel Service. A small consular team has arrived in Chengdu. A five member rapid response team is on its way to Chongqing and is expected to arrive this afternoon.
The Response Centre contact number for concerned relatives and friends is (+86 10) 5192 4499. Please read more here: http://www.uk.cn/bj/index.asp?menu_id=337&artid=3010
Update on Multiple Entry Visas for British Businessmen
The British Embassy has received an assurance from the Chinese Foreign Ministry that the Chinese will continue to issue twelve month multiple entry visas to British businessmen.
Please click here for full details of the requirements.
China Issues New Guide for Foreign Investment
China's government released a new guide for foreign investment, listing the industries that are open to foreign investment and those where foreign investors are either banned or restricted from entering.
Foreign investors are invited to join efforts to promote the recycling economy, clean production, renewable energy utilisation and ecological environment protection. However, China is to prohibit foreign investors from exploiting "important and non-renewable" mineral resources, and to restrict energy-consuming and highly-polluting projects, said the NDRC.
The new guide, promulgated against the backdrop of economic transformation from quantity to quality, will replace the 2004 version and take effect from 1st December 2007, according to the National Development and Reform Centre (NDRC).
Please follow the link to read more:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/07/content_7029985.htm
The Chinese version of the Guide can currently be downloaded at: http://www.ndrc.gov.cn/zcfb/zcfbl/2007ling/W020071107537750156652.pdf. There is no English version at present but it should be available in due course.
17th CPC National Congress
The 17th CPC National Congress closed on 22nd October. Whilst the outcomes and importance of the Congress will be debated for some time, we have the following initial observations.
Hu Jintao’s leadership has been firmly endorsed and we can expect to see the Hu Jintao / Wen Jiabao corporatist style of leadership continuing with an emphasis on building an harmonious society. Reform and opening up will continue and we might expect to see economic reform gaining new impetus after a hiatus in the lead-up to the Congress. He said ‘China will unswervingly follow a win-win strategy of opening-up’ and ‘we will advance the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment.’
Hu’s concept of ‘Scientific Development’ has been incorporated into the constitution (earlier in his term than Jiang Zhemin’s ‘Three Represents’).
Whilst not much emphasis was placed on environmental issues during the Congress, what was said was encouraging – energy conservation and protection of the global climate are seen as important.
The Politburo Standing Committee, which is the body that effectively rules China, continues to have nine members. Hu Jintao remains as Party General Secretary and the Premier Wen Jiabao, National Peoples Congress Chairman Wu Bangguo, Jia Qinglin (Chairman of the Political Consultative Conference) and Li Changchun (the propaganda chief) also retain their place on the Committee.
Three previous members of the Standing Committee have stepped down – Zeng Qinghong (vice president), Wu Guanzheng (head of party discipline) and Luo Gan (security chief). Executive Vice-Premier Huang Ju died earlier this year.
New appointments to the Standing Committee are:
Xi Jinping (54)– the Party Secretary of Shanghai. Mr Xi attended the opening of Nottingham’s Ningbo campus when he was party secretary of Zhejiang.
Li Keqiang (52) – the party secretary of Liaoning. Lord Powell met Mr Li in Shenyang in 2006.
He Guoqiang – formerly in charge of personnel in the Politburo, he will be taking over Party discipline. He is person who told former Shanghai party secretary Chen Liangyu that he was being dismissed.
Zhou Yongkang – formerly minister of state security and before that, he headed China National Petroleum Corporation.
In the 25 member Politburo, there are nine new members including Li Yuanchao, who is likely to become personnel chief and was formerly Jiangsu party secretary, in which capacity he met Lord Powell both in Nanjing and UK, and Bo Xilai, former Minister of Commerce and expected to become Chongqing party secretary and Wang Qishan, mayor of Beijing, all of whom are well known to CBBC.
State Councillor Tang Jiaxun (former head of the Chinese China Task Force) has retired from the Central Committee.
Liu Mingkang, Chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission, was appointed to the Central Committee.
ALERT FOR UK COMPANIES - SCAM CONTRACTS
British companies continue to be contacted by individuals from China posing as the representatives of companies placing suspiciously large orders for products from UK-based factories. Manufacturers are being enticed to China to sign supply contracts, in the course of which they may be faced with demands for cash, to serve as ‘sweeteners’ or ‘commission’. Any ‘contracts’ signed turn out to be merely part of an elaborate ruse.
Many of these requests emanate from Yunnan, Guangdong and Hainan provinces. CBBC is collaborating with the British diplomatic posts in China to draw individual instances to the attention of the authorities for further action. Already, as a result of this, the authorities in Hainan have taken action in a number of cases.
CBBC’s advice to people approached with a suspicious order is to vet the companies concerned, be circumspect about demands to travel to China and refuse to become involved in corrupt demands. CBBC advises all companies to maintain their normal business instincts and use common sense.
If, in any doubt, companies should contact the CBBC for advice, which will be offered confidentially (contact Jennifer Broughton at CBBC: jennifer.broughton@cbbc.org or 020 7802 2017).
|
