world: Europe’S New Iron Lady P.14 | NATION: Making Science Popular P.20 VOL.56 NO.41 October 10, 2013 WWW.BJREVIEW.COM WRITING AMNESIA Chinese old and young are forgetting how to hand write their language. What needs to be done? RMB6.00 USD1.70 AUD3.00 GBP1.20 CAD2.60 CHF2.60 JPY188 邮发代号2-922·国内统一刊号：CN11-1576/G2 VOL.56 NO.41 OCTOBER 10, 2013 CONTENTS THE DESK Nation Cover Story » Handwriting and the Keyboard 02 THIS WEEK 18 8 COVER STORY WORLD » The Good Neighbors 12 China reinforces ASEAN ties NATION » Popularity Contest 20 Making a subject popular Hanzi Crisis BUSINESS Leveling the Playing Field Is the art of writing Chinese characters dying? Making universities gender equal » Thinking Differently on Growth 24 GDP shouldn’t be the only marker CULTURE » The Power of the Arts 28 Artistic training for rural students 22 FORUM Business » The Trend of China’s Diplomacy 30 World EXPAT’S EYE 14 » Weighty Matters in Hong Kong 32 The books are heavy Merkel 3.0 Germany’s Iron Lady cements leadership Rescuing Solar Power Major changes to save an industry ©2013 Beijing Review, all rights reserved. ONLINE AT » WWW.BJREVIEW.COM BREAKING NEWS » SCAN ME » Using a QR code reader Beijing Review (ISSN 1000-9140) is published weekly for US$64.00 per year by Cypress Books, 360 Swift Avenue, Suite 48, South San Francisco, CA 94080, Periodical Postage Paid at South San Francisco, CA 94080. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Beijing Review, Cypress Books, 360 Swift Avenue, Suite 48, South San Francisco, CA 94080 THE DESK A News Weekly Magazine Published Since 1958 President & Editor in Chief: Wang Gangyi Vice President: Qi Wengong Associate Editors in Chief: Li Jianguo, Huang Wei, EDITOR Wang Yanjuan, Zhou Jianxiong, Ding Zhitao Assistant President: Li Zhenzhou Assistant Editor in Chief: Wa Chunfang Executive Editor: Ding Zhitao Assistant Executive Editors: Yao Bin, Zhang Zhiping, Zan Jifang Editorial Administrators: Zhang Xiaoli, Shi Bosen Opinion Editor: Zan Jifang World Editor: Yan Wei Handwriting and the Keyboard Nation Editor: Yao Bin Business Editors: Yu Shujun, Lan Xinzhen In the digital era, many Chinese are faced with the prospect of losing their Culture Editor: Liu Yunyun Editorial Consultants: Joseph Halvorson, Elvis Anber, handwriting abilities. As one of the oldest existent languages, Chinese is used Jacques Smit, Kieran Pringle Staff Reporters: Tang Yuankai, Ding Ying, Ding Wenlei, Wang Jun, Li Li, by the largest population in the world today. Chinese characters, or hanzi, Yin Pumin, Pan Xiaoqiao, Yuan Yuan, Wang Hairong, Liu Xinlian, Yu Yan, Yu Lintao, Zhou Xiaoyan, Bai Shi, Deng Yaqing, Ji Jing were first invented 6,000 years ago, according to current archaeological dis- Photo Editor: Wang Xiang coveries. Until the Shang Dynasty (about 16th-11th century B.C.), they were Photographer: Wei Yao Art: Li Shigong found mostly inscribed on tortoise shells and animal bones. Art Director: Wang Yajuan Chief Designer: Cui Xiaodong Over thousands of years, generations of Chinese have developed hand- Designer: Zhao Boyu written hanzi into a calligraphic art and means by which to spread ancient Proofreading: Qin Wenli, Ma Xin wisdom. An old Chinese saying states that a man’s personality is like his or Distribution Director: Hu Keqiang Human Resources: Hou Jin her handwriting. It is believed in China that a person’s attitude and spirit are International Cooperation: Zhang Yajie Marketing/PR Director: Pan Changqing reflected in calligraphy, which embodies traditional Chinese esthetics. Legal Counsel: Yue Cheng However, with the advent of modern technology, handwritten hanzi North America Bureau Chief: Huang Wei seems to be on the decline, with many fearing its eventual extinction. Deputy Chief: Xu Tao Inputting Chinese characters into computers and cellphones using various Tel/Fax: 1-201-792-0334 E-mail: [email protected] types of keyboards has become the major means by which to communicate Africa Bureau with most people, posing a possible threat to the survival of handwriting. Chief: Li Jianguo Africa Managing Editor: Francisco Little Despite growing concern, some argue that handwritten hanzi faces little Tel: 27-71-6132053 E-mail: [email protected] danger. Li He, a philosophy researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social General Editorial Office Sciences, said that the decline of handwriting is not exclusive to Chinese, with Tel: 86-10-68996252 many other languages, including English, up against similar problems. In his Fax: 86-10-68326628 English Edition view, boosting handwriting training in educational instructions might prove a Tel: 86-10-68996259 Advertising Department solution. In turn, Zhang Yiwu, a professor of Chinese language and literature Tel: 86-10-68995810 E-mail: [email protected] at Peking University, believes that the invention of handwriting-input technol- Distribution Department ogy would help revive handwritten hanzi in the modern age. Tel: 86-10-68310644 E-mail: [email protected] With hanzi a key part of Chinese civilization, the problems it faces have Published every Thursday by given rise to similar questions around the globe pertaining to the ongoing BEIJING REVIEW, 24 Baiwanzhuang Lu, Beijing 100037, China. preservation of traditional culture. n Overseas Distributor: China International Book Trading Corporation (Guoji Shudian), P. O. BOX 399, Beijing 100044, China Tel: 86-10-68413849, 1-416-497-8096 (Canada) Fax: 86-10-68412166 E-mail: [email protected] WRITE TO US Website: http://www.cibtc.com General Distributor for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan: Peace Book Co. Ltd. Send an e-mail: [email protected] 17/Fl, Paramount Bldg, 12 Ka Yip St, Chai Wan, HK Tel: 852-28046687 Fax: 852-28046409 Please provide your name and address along with your submissions. Beijing Review (ISSN 1000-9140 USPS 2812) is published weekly in the Submissions may be edited. United States for US$64.00 per year by Cypress Books, CHINA......RMB6.00 U.S.A.......USD1.70 AUSTRALIA......AUD3.00 UK......GBP1.20 360 Swift Avenue, Suite 48, South San Francisco, CA 94080 CANADA......CAD2.60 SWITZERLAND......CHF2.60 JAPAN......JPY188 EUROPE......EURO1.90 News Postage Paid at South San Francisco, CA 94080 TURKEY......YTL5.00 HK......HKD9.30 NEPAL......RS40 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Beijing Review, Cypress Books, 360 Swift Avenue, Suite 48, 北京周报 英文版 2013年 第41期 ISSN 1000-9140 广告许可证 0171号北京市期刊登记证第733号 Available at the App Store South San Francisco, CA 94080 邮发代号2-922·国内统一刊号：CN11-1576/G2 国内零售价：人民币6.00元 2 BEIJING REVIEW OCTOBER 10, 2013 http://www.bjreview.com THIS WEEK CFP HAPPY BIRTHDAY Visitors pose by a bed of flowers in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on October 1. The day is China’s National Day, with this year marking the 64th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. http://www.bjreview.com OCTOBER 10, 2013 BEIJING REVIEW 3 THIS WEEK CHEN FEI A New Chapter The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone has its opening ceremony on September 29. Located on the outskirts of Shanghai, the zone will be used to explore new methods of reducing government intervention and opening the Chinese economy up more to global investors. At the ceremony, 36 companies were given licenses to operate in the zone, which covers 28.78 square km. Service Purchasing culture and sports, as well as services purchasing public services, accord- names of defaulters between courts The Chinese Government issued for the disabled, will be opened up ing the State Council. and commercial banks will also be guidelines for government purchase to more private sector investment, established. according to the statement. of public services from social organi- Service providers may include Defaulter Blacklist zations and private companies on social organizations, companies or China’s Supreme People’s Court Retail Giant September 30. institutions legally registered or ap- (SPC) is to compile and publish British retail giant Tesco PLC an- The State Council, China’s cabi- proved, it said. a blacklist of those who have de- nounced on October 2 that it signed net, announced in a statement that Services that should be offered faulted on court-ordered payments. an agreement to establish a joint the country is to gradually purchase directly by the state, those that The list will be the first of its kind in venture in China with the China services at a local level between have been deemed unsuitable for China. Resources Enterprise Ltd. (CRE). now and 2015, and it will establish a the private sector, or those that are The regulation, which allows courts Tesco, which entered the system by 2020 for the purchasing otherwise not included in govern- to publicize the names of defaulters, Chinese market in 2004, announced of private sector services by govern- ment responsibilities, should not be came into effect on October 1. that the two companies “have en- The SPC, with the cooperation tered into a definitive agreement to ment organizations. purchased, the statement added. of state-owned banks, will punish combine their Chinese retail opera- Public service sectors including Local governments and parties involved in lawsuits who fail tions and create the leading multi- education, employment, social secu- other related departments should formulate detailed guidelines for to pay damages. Punishment may format retailer in China.” rity, medical health, housing security, take the form of further investigation The joint venture will create a CNSPHOTO and the freezing or transferring of business with estimated sales total- assets, according to a memorandum ing 10 billion pounds ($16 billion) previously signed by state-owned in which Tesco will hold 20 percent, banks in conjunction with the SPC. and CRE the remaining 80. According to the memorandum, The joint venture, aiming to an exclusive channel for sharing create the leading retailer in seven BEST BUDDIES Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with recipients of this year’s Friendship Award, as well as their relatives, in Beijing on September 30.