MAY 2014 NEWSLETTER - Australia China Friendship Society

Australia China Friendship Society
Tasmanian Branch Inc
Tasmanian Patron
Prof. Wong Shiu-Hon
Web: www.acfs.com.au/tasmania
[email protected]
PO Box: 186 South Hobart
Tasmania 7004
MAY 2014 NEWSLETTER
Check out our new website on www.acfs.com.au/tasmania
Pilgrims on their way to Tibet
Up Coming Events
May 22nd
Speaker
Bill Pearson
Photo: China Daily
info page 2
May 24th
Speaker and
Dinner
June 1st
Speaker and
Dragon boat
Festival BBQ
(The views in this newsletter do not necessarily represent those of ACFS)
Want more info? contact Jan [email protected]
ACFS EVENT
Bill Pearson: Thursday May 22nd
Bill has been a TCM practitioner since the 80s and has established a strong relationship with China. An
invited guest to Beijing on several occasions, he established a practitioner exchange with the China
Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and has studied Medical Qigong under Professor Xu Hongtao. He
has been a past President of the Australian Traditional Medicine Society and was awarded a Life
Membership in 2009. Bill has a clinic as an acupuncturist and is the founder of Jian Shen School of Tai
Chi and Qigong which, apart from its own classes, holds demonstrations and workshops throughout
Hobart
7:30pm MRC BUILDING 49 Molle St; Hobart
Chinese Community
Association of Tas.
Sunday 18th May 2014
12pm sharp
Movie and lunch
Movie with sub titles
Cost $8-oo
Dragon boat Festival
See the Dragon Boats
on the Derwent River
Short Beach
Marieville Esplanade
Sandy Bay
Sunday 1st June 11am
BBQ to follow on site
for CCAT Members
ACFS Tour to China October 2014
$3120pp
Beijing Sites
Sacred Way Ming Tombs – Rickshaw ride & lunch in Hutongs- Summer Palace-
Datong
Part of Great Wall-Grottoes-9 Dragon Screen
Xi’an
Xi’an Theatre- Muslin Quarter-Terracotta Warriors-
Letter to President Xi Jinping
When the Honorable Premier of Tasmania, Mr. Will Hodgman, headed a delegation of
Tasmanian businesses to China in April as part of the Prime Minister’s Trade
Delegation, he took with him a letter organized by Deputy Mayor Ron Christie to
China’s President Xi Jinping. The letter was an invitation from the Chinese
Communities of Hobart extending the hand of friendship and a wish that he might
visit the state.
Tasmania is the only state
in Australia that President
Xi Jinping has not visited.
The President has been a
member of the CCP based
in Fujian Province
since1983, a member of
the standing committee,
Vice Mayor of Xiamen and
Governor of Fujian
Province from1995 until
2002. Tasmania and
Fujian have had sister
state relations since 1972
and the paths of Xi Jinping
and Tasmanians have
crossed many times.
Unfortunately a visit by Xi
Jinping has never
occurred. It is hoped that
this situation might be
rectified in the near
future
ACFS April Lecture: Professor Gilber
China: Economics and Foreign Policy
Professor Harry Gilber, Honorary Research Associate,
University of Tasmania.
Prof. Gilber read history at Cambridge before doing his PhD at Monash
University in Australia.
He has taught international politics at many Universities in
Australia and overseas.
Most recently he spent several years as Visiting Professor and
Visiting Scholar at Harvard University and Boston University;
and Visiting Fellow, Department of International Relations, London. Prof. Gilber lives in Tasmania and
travels regularly to the USA and Britain. His books include Nations out of Empires (2001), Opium,
Soldiers and Evangelists (2004) and The Dragon and Foreign Devils (2008)
Professor Gelber referred to the historical view of national sovereignty held by China largely because of
the influence of Confucius values and the consequent attitude towards relations with others particularly
neighbouring states. He discussed, and gave examples, of the enormous economic growth in the
Chinese domestic economy especially over the last thirty years. Currently, China’s foreign policy reflects
greater cognisance of its place as an emerging world leader and the awareness of protecting its overseas
interests particularly in the Pacific and Southeast Asian region. The excellent talk was followed by an
interesting and lively question and discussion session by members of the audience.
by Maureen Ling
Celebrating Buddah’s Birthday
ACFS Celebrates May Day
Members and friends of ACFS celebrated May Day, at Asian Gourmet on May 1st.
Our life member, and former long serving President Prof. Bruce Johnson AO, our Patron
Prof. Wong, Mrs. Nancy Wong and special guest Master Wang were in attendance.
Zhihua Temple
In the bustling heart of Beijing, there is an
oasis of tranquility that dates from the
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The Zhihua
Temple is not only the largest existing Ming
Dynasty temple complex in Beijing. It is
also home to some priceless cultural
heritage, including China’s oldest style of
music, elegant Buddhist statues and
exquisite frescoes.
Zhihua Temple was originally the ancestral
temple of Wang Zhen, a eunuch who
served the Ming Dynasty Emperor
Yingzhong. It was commissioned in 1443
by Wang, with money embezzled from the
court to pursue his ambitious building
program for him and his family.
The temple was given its name by the
Emperor himself and means
“Buddha brings salvation to the Universe.”
The roofs of black glazed tiles, on the main
buildings of Zhihua Temple are a rare sight
on existing ancient temples in China.
These tiles were only produced in royal
kilns and are a testament to Wang’s
privileged status at court.
After Wang’s death in 1449, the temple
was converted into a Buddhist place of
worship and has remained so ever since.
The rotating scriptures cabinet, in the Hall
of Scriptures stands out among the
antiquities in the complex. Rotating
scriptures cabinets first appeared in China
around 1,000 years ago. They were
designed for illiterate Buddhists and
functioned as prayer wheels used by
Tibetan Buddhists. The cabinets store
scriptures and symbolize the Wheel of
Dharma.
The rotating scriptures cabinet in Zhuhua
Temple is the oldest of the three that
remain in Beijing. They hold the scriptures
of Tripitaka in 45 wooden drawers.
Another visual wonder is the three metre
high Ming Dynasty frescoes. There are also
more than 9,990 Buddha sculptures
enshrined in niches in the Hall of Ten
Thousand Buddha’s Zhihua Temple is also
the home of Beijing Music, also known as
Jing Music, which is one of the five oldest
known genres in China. It is regarded as
being a living fossil of
traditional Buddhist music. Its creation has
been attributed to Wang who set up a
band to perform during Buddhist rituals.
Wang secretly brought in court music
scores that were only supposed to be used
in royal ceremonies. Wang incorporated
the imperial tunes into the Buddhist chants
and folk music, creating a distinctive
musical style, that is known for its
solemnity and elegance.
In the Qing Dynasty, the music performed
in Zhihua Temple, gradually spread to
areas surrounding Beijing and became a
feature of Buddhist music in Northern
China. It was during this period that it was
dubbed Beijing Music (Jing Music).
Over the past 565 years, the repertoire has
been passed down through 27 generations
of monks to this present day. Of the 137
scores that remain, only 39 are complete
enough for present day performances. In
2013 Zhihua Temple recorded 4 CDs of
these Jing melodies as a way of preserving
this artistic heritage for future generations.
If you are visiting Beijing, pay a visit to this
magnificent temple complex and you can
see and hear the monks perform Jing
Music. Purchase a CD and you will help to
preserve this unique style of music.
Use of Sea Water
In 2012 China
built 95 facilities
to distillate sea
water, with a
daily capacity of
774,000 tons, at
an average cost
of 6-8 RMB per
ton. The desalinated sea water is supplied to
coastal industries with large water needs, such as
power generation, iron and steel works and
island households. Sea water is widely used as a
cooling agent at an annual volume of 84.1 billion
tons.
Dalian Ship.
Dalian in Leaoning Province has
taken delivery of the first Chinese
independently designed and
constructed 10,000-TUE container
ship.
In Tibet
Tibet is becoming a popular destination for tourists to visit, with large queues waiting to
enter the Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital of southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.
The number of tourists surged in 2013 up 24.7% to a record 12.58 million last year, the
region’s Tourism Bureau said. The revenue for the tourist sector increased 32.3% to 13.85
billion Yuan according to official statistics.
Three national parks were opened in Tibet in
2012, adding to the existing attractions.
Authorities expect to see 15 million tourists
visiting the region annually by 2015.
Beijing Review
Connected to the road network
October 2013, Medog in the Tibet Autonomous Region
was the last county in China to be connected to the
national highway network, putting to an end to the
isolation of the region once dubbed the “secret lotus”.
Although the highway has opened up the region, the local
authorities have taken a stand to decrease the number of
tourists to fewer than 15,000 annually. The county government is proceeding to establish
a better tourist industry, by preserving the natural landscape as well as exploring new
routes for hikers.
Tibetan Education
Ma Shengchang, director of regional education department, said
that the regional government invested 11 billion Yuan in education
in 2013. The primary school enrolment rates for that year reached
99.56%
Ma added that Tibet was the first place in China to provide nine
year compulsory free education in 2007, and also the first to provide 15 year education
for free in 201
According to the Tibet Bureau of Education, from this year each student from
kindergarten through to seniors will receive 2,900 Yuan to help with food and education
expenses while they are attending boarding school. China Today
Tibetan Encyclopaedia
Translation has begun on a Tibetan version of the Chinese
Encyclopaedia, making this the third ethnic minority
language edition of the comprehensive encyclopedia. The
translation is being undertaken by the Tibetan
Autonomous Press and the Tibetology Studies Institute of the University of
Tibet. The project is expected to take up
to five years.
In 2011, China started translating the
encyclopedia into the Uygur and Kazakh
languages as well. The work is ongoing.
Tibetan Traditional Medicine
Every summer, Tso-Ngon Tibetan Medical Hospital in China’s Qinghai Provence, sets up
make shift hospitals, to conduct its free checkups for
residents in remote and poor areas of the province. In these
clinics, 80% of the treatments are done with the use of
Tibetan herbs and medicines.
Tibetan medicine has been around for over 2,000 years. It
began to prosper in the seventh century on the QinghaiTibetan Plateau. With its great healing effects on many serious diseases, it is winning over
more and more people across the country. The medicines provided are much cheaper
than those from drug stores, as they are locally produced.
Kunchok Gyaltsen is a Lama, who received his doctorate in public health at the University
of California, Los Angeles and is now a professor and Ph.D supervisor at Qinghai
University’s, Tibetan Medicine College. He is
also the honorary president of the Kumburn
Tibetan Medicine Hospital, which was set up
in the Ta-ar Monastery in Xining, in 1980.
The Ta-ar Monastery has its own medical
institute that trains monk as doctors.
Family planning in Tibet
China’s Child Policy 1985-2013
Even before the
announcement of the
new policies allowing
a second child in
families in China,
urban residents in the Tibet Autonomous Region
have been allowed to have two children. For
Tibetans and other minorities with small
populations, there has been no limit on the
number of children allowed.
In 1985, the policy allowing couples where both
parents were the only child of their families, to
have two children was trailed in Zhejiang
Province.
By 2011 this policy had covered
the whole country. However since the easing of
the birth policy, intentions to have a second
child have hardly prevailed. According to the
Family Planning Bureau of Guangzhou of the
24,420 families register only 313 (1.28 percent)
choose to have a second child.
Even in China nontraditional family types are
emerging, with double income families no kids,
single parent families, and those choosing to
remain unmarried are on the rise. The family’s
conventional functions of marriage, birth and
taking care of the elders have been weakened
National Gallery of Victoria
Our Vice- President
Maggie
McKerracher
visited Melbourne
in April and took
this photo
In the book store
Living on the Roof of the World (11)
Lives on the snowy plateau
Authors: Xuy Chaoqing, Li Lin er al.
Published by New World Press Beijing, 2013
This book show cases the real lives of people living and working in Tibet and their
inner conflicts and struggles.
For those who have little knowledge of Tibet, this book will show you the authentic Tibet, past, present
and future. It also raises many scenarios on Tibetan culture, modern history and contemporary lives.
Tin Mountain
Author; Garry Richardson
Published by Forty Degrees Publications
Garry Richardson is a local Tasmanian historian who has
extensively researched the tin mining era, as well as the Chinese
and Europeans who worked and lived in the Blue Tier and
Weldborough area from 1875. His book is based on a great deal of
primary source materials and photos that have not been published
before.
If you are interested in reading about how these men and women
flocked to this area to try and make their fortune and how they
survived in this rugged unyielding land. Why the Chinese ( who are
said at one time to have numbered over one thousand), travelled
far from their home land to reach this tin mining area, then I highly
recommend this book to you.
Zhu Rongji on the Record
Published by Foreign Language Press
Zhu Rongji on the record is a compilation of Zhu’s writings. It covers China’s
reform, opening up and modernization drive.
It includes important speeches, articles, directives and letters. Zhu was a key
Chinese reformer and statesman and served as Vice Premier of the State
Council from April1991 to March 1998. Zhu served as Premier from March 1998
to March 2003. Some of the material has not been published before.

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