Communist propaganda pushes out Hollywood |
Mainland cinema schedules are cleared of US blockbusters to make way for party's new film |
| http://bit.ly/jGWFKf Hollywood blockbusters including Transformers 3 and Cars 2 have been pushed back on mainland cinema schedules to make way for the Communist Party's latest propaganda film. The Founding of a Party, set to premiere across the mainland on June 15, marks the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party on July 1. The new film boasts 107 cast members, including Hong Kong's Chow Yun-fat and John Woo. The 70 million yuan (HK$83.9 million) film is expected to rake in nearly 800 million yuan - a record for a mainland film - but it will not be challenged by the usual summer invasion of US blockbusters, according to Gao Jun , spokesman for the New Film Association, one of the mainland's main cinema chains. "The cinemas are confident that the movie will set a new box office record because Hollywood blockbusters have been scheduled for screening in late July," Gao said. The film has become a national event, with nearly 20 provincial and municipal propaganda departments involved in making it, he said. Other screening slots this month will be filled by other propaganda films and a smattering of overseas movies that will not be popular enough to threaten the box office performance of The Founding of a Party, according to the Beijing-based Legal Evening News. Most overseas films scheduled to screen this month will not come from Hollywood, it added. The mainland's current box office champion is last year's Let the Bullets Fly, which grossed 700 million yuan. Another propaganda film, The Founding of the Republic, which marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic, netted 420 million yuan at the box office two years ago. The Founding of a Party, which started shooting in August, has seen no shortage of controversies, ranging from the sidelining of Lust, Cautionstar Tang Wei , to having that icon of American capitalism General Motors as a main sponsor. (Many of its stars will get to ride in chauffeur-driven Cadillacs). Tang's minutes on screen were slashed and her name removed from the final cast list released last week. Tang, 31, plays Tao Yi , Mao Zedong's first lover. There have been suggestions her role was cut back because of objections by Mao's grandson, Mao Xinyu , that Tang's appearance would damage his grandfather's reputation because of the notoriety she earned for her character's steamy love scenes inLust, Caution. According to the official introduction, the film shows how Mao Zedong and his comrades "sacrificed everything for their country".
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Wednesday, June 1, 2011
scmp.com: Communist propaganda pushes out Hollywood
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
scmp.com: Learning curve
Learning curve |
Aung San Suu Kyi believes Burma's universities will one day rejoin the ranks of establishments like HKU that encourage students to think independently and use their knowledge in the service of humanity |
One of my favourite dicta is that people should not be categorised as good or evil, wise or stupid. It would be much more sensible to divide them simply into learners and non-learners. In between the two extremes would be a broad spectrum graded on the degree to which individuals are capable of correct assessment and understanding of the learning material at their disposal.
Here, of course, I'm giving a very broad definition to learning. It would involve much more than what could be acquired from any one institution or from any one formal teacher. It would mean a process of gaining such knowledge and experience as would help us to cope with the challenges that life throws at us and to find ways of enhancing our own existence, as well as that of as great a portion as possible of all the other occupants of our planet.
To put it in another way, the highest form of learning would be that which makes us caring and responsible citizens of this world, and equips us with the intellectual means necessary to translate our concerns into specific deeds.
Surely such a view of learning is in harmony with the idea of education as conceived in the motto of Hong Kong University - Wisdom and Virtue. One hundred years of furnishing the world with young people who have been provided with the capacity to think independently, to express those thoughts cogently, and to use them for the betterment of our world is an achievement of which this university can be justly proud. The hopes of its founding fathers have been more than realised.
At the foundation-laying ceremony, Sir Frederick Lugard hoped that the graduates of the University of Hong Kong would exert an influence which will be immeasurable in the future among the 400 million of China's population. Little could he have envisaged such an institution as this one of today, internationally renowned and one that attracts students from all over the world, who will one day exert an ever-widening influence on the future of more than just one country.
As I contemplate the achievements of Hong Kong University, I am filled with deep admiration and also, it has to be admitted, with wistfulness. Whenever I consider the educational progress that has been made in other countries, I think with sadness of the deplorable state of education in my own.
There was a time when educational standards and institutions in Burma were viewed with respect and envy by many countries in Asia and elsewhere. Rangoon University, 10 years younger than Hong Kong University, is the outcome of the amalgam of Rangoon College and Judson College, the Baptist college. The university rapidly became the breeding ground not only of bright young intellectuals, but also of dedicated nationalists determined to free their country from colonial rule. As academic standards grew robustly and gained the recognition of long-established institutions in the Western world, so the patriotic fervour of the students gained new momentum.
Rangoon University became the vanguard of movements demanding equality and justice and, eventually, these movements were supported and joined by students from Mandalay University, and from schools all over the country.
The close link between political movements and universities became an established tradition in Burma. When the country fell under military rule, students were among the first protesters calling for the restoration of democratic rights. As authoritarian rule tightened its grip on the country, the position of universities as institutions aimed at fostering freedom of thought, expression and association was steadily eroded.
Yet, after more than two decades of totalitarian governance, it was again the students of Rangoon University who led the movement to free the country from military administration. This was the famous public uprising of 1988.
Now, more than 20 years on, the aims of democracy and human rights, for which many students sacrificed liberty and life, have not yet been realised. In the meantime, the standard of education at all levels has fallen and Burma is a country crying out for the potential of its people, especially its young people, to be realised.
I might mention here that many leaders of the 1988 student movement still remain in prison today, serving unbelievably long sentences.
Education should be available to all, not just to a privileged few. Education should foster values that will promote human dignity and guide human progress in a positive direction. Education should be a true learning process, not a machine for churning out meek, obedient people incapable of reasoning why justice and liberty should not be the birthright of all human beings.
I congratulate the University of Hong Kong on its achievements on the human front as well as its solid academic credentials, which have made it one of the most respected institutions in Asia. I look forward to a closer co-operation with both the faculty of the university, as well as with the student body.
I am confident that the day will come when we in Burma will be able to enjoy the fruits of real education and to share them with the rest of the world. This will be the day when wisdom and virtue will triumph.
Aung San Suu Kyi is a Burmese opposition politician and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. This is an edited version of a transcript of her speech yesterday to the University of Hong Kong
Monday, May 30, 2011
scmp.com: Germany to end nuclear power
Germany to end nuclear power |
Decision to phase out atomic energy by 2022 marks the start of fundamental rethink, Merkel says |
| http://bit.ly/m2B4d6 Germany yesterday became the first big industrialised power to agree an end to nuclear power in the wake of the disaster in Japan, with a phasing out to be completed by 2022. Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel said the decision, hammered out by her centre-right coalition overnight, marked the start of a fundamental rethink of energy policy in the world's number four economy. "We want the electricity of the future to be safer and at the same time reliable and affordable," Merkel said. "That means we must have a new approach to the supply network, energy efficiency, renewable energy and also long-term monitoring of the process." The decision came as the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that global carbon-dioxide emissions hit a record high last year, dimming the prospects of limiting the global temperature increase to an internationally agreed target of 2 degrees Celsius. German Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen said the decision to shut down all 17 of its nuclear reactors - eight of which are currently off the electricity grid - was irreversible. Yesterday's decision means Germany will have to find the 22 per cent of its electricity needs that were covered by nuclear power from other sources such as renewable energy, natural gas and coal-fired plants.
Nuclear opponents criticised the deal yesterday and said they would stage fresh protests next month calling for a faster phasing out. The crisis at Japan's Fukushima facility after it was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami in March has sparked a renewed global debate about the safety of nuclear power, with opinions differing widely. Switzerland recently announced it would not build any new nuclear stations - three were in the pipeline - and there have been similar announcements in Italy, Thailand and Malaysia. Sweden's environment minister criticised Germany's decision, saying it failed to adequately address climate change. The shock rise in greenhouse gas emissions represented a serious setback to the goal of preventing a temperature rise of more than 2 degrees Celsius - which scientists say is the threshold for potentially "dangerous climate change". After a dip in 2009 caused by the global financial crisis, emissions are estimated to have climbed to a record 30.6 giga-tonnes, a 5 per cent jump from the previous record year in 2008, when levels reached 29.3Gt, the IEA said. New power plants are set to increase emissions. Global leaders agreed a target of limiting temperature increase to 2 degrees at UN climate change talks in Cancun, Mexico last year. "Our latest estimates are another wake-up call," Dr Fatih Birol, chief economist of the IEA, said. "The world has edged incredibly close to the level of emissions that should not be reached until 2020 if the 2 degrees target is to be attained." Agence France-Presse, The Guardian
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Thursday, May 26, 2011
Google takes wraps off pay-by-phone system
Goolge會資助商舖更新硬件，配合手機新內置通訊晶片（NFC)，實現手機付款。
Microsoft呀，今時今日淨係識整鋁窗識打機唔work架啦！
Google takes wraps off pay-by-phone system
http://reut.rs/l8u1Gp
scmp: Surgeon let girlfriend in to watch him operate
Surgeon let girlfriend in to watch him operate |
| http://bit.ly/j8eCDT A doctor who took his girlfriend into an operating theatre to watch him perform surgery may be disciplined by Chinese University of Hong Kong and Prince of Wales Hospital. The hospital said yesterday that Professor Alex Fan Hoi, an assistant professor in the university's department of opthalmology and visual sciences, broke the rules when he took the woman into the theatre without permission to watch him conduct an emergency corneal transplant on April 24. His girlfriend is a postgraduate student at CUHK. There were three other medical staff members in the room. A hospital spokeswoman said visitors were allowed into operating theatres "but only for teaching or research purposes, and after obtaining permission from both the hospital and the university". She said the hospital was considering whether any disciplinary action should be taken and contacted Chinese University for follow-up action. The girlfriend neither touched the patient, nor was she involved in the operation, she said. "Medical records show that the patient was not affected in any way by her presence," she said. The patient had been discharged and was recovering well, she said. CUHK's medical faculty said last night that it would not comment on this case or person as an investigation was continuing. "Our faculty will prudently assess and take any disciplinary action under the principle of fairness and justice," it said. A letter had been sent to opthalmology department staff reminding them to strictly comply with the hospital and mecial faculty's protocols related to visitors in operating theatres. The rules state that non-medical staff visiting an operating theatre shall not affect the operation procedures or patients and prior approval from the hospital or university departments concerned must be given. |
Friday, May 20, 2011
scmp.com: Dood, that's one catchy iPhone app
Dood, that's one catchy iPhone app |
Software mimics the beep of an Octopus card but developer insists it is not designed to cheat traders |
| http://bit.ly/iIIq6o The hottest iPhone app in town isn't a game or a fancy new way to play music. It's a program that produces just a single beep. The reason for its popularity is that the noise is identical to the one made when an Octopus card is tapped on a reader. The "dood" sound is generated when the user opens the app and presses the screen or when the phone's front camera lens is covered. Dubbed the baat dat loong simulator from the card's Cantonese nickname, it has become one of Hong Kong's most downloaded apps since it was introduced last week. Software company Play More, which developed the app, insists it is not designed to cheat traders. "It's not a billing system but just a piece of software offering people a good laugh," it says, adding in a legal disclaimer that it will not bear responsibility for any loss caused.
Some users see it differently. "It can help to cheat the bus fare," one wrote in a review.
Octopus Cards said yesterday it had not received any complaints. "If customers use Octopus for payment, the shopkeepers or bus drivers can confirm whether the payment is completed not only by the `dood' sound," a spokesman said. "They can also verify via the light signal on the Octopus readers or display at the cashier terminal or the bus driver's control panel." Taxi and Public Light Bus Concern Group chairman Lai Ming-hung said drivers had been warned. |
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
scmp.com: Police give extra points for foreign languages
Police give extra points for foreign languages |
Applicants for jobs as constables to get higher marks if they can speak and write in various tongues, in a push by the force to reach out to ethnic communities |
| http://bit.ly/iFoJCh New applicants for jobs as police constables will get extra marks for using foreign languages other than English in a move seen as part of efforts by the force to engage ethnic minorities after the fatal shooting of a Nepali street sleeper two years ago. Points will be given to candidates who demonstrate speaking and writing skills in Hindi, Urdu, Nepali, Tagalog, French, German, Japanese or Korean in tests. Other languages may be added if resources allow. "Our target is to enhance our service by finding more suitable talent through this review," chief inspector Francis Cheung Kwok-wai, of the police's recruitment division, said. "From previous large-scale activities, like the Olympic equestrian events and World Trade Organisation meeting, we can see that the ability to use foreign languages will help the force greatly." A support group fighting for minorities to be allowed to join the force welcomed the move, but said it had not heard of any South Asians being hired since the handover in 1997. "It is a symbolic step that the police have finally agreed that they need ethnic minorities," Fermi Wong Wai-fun, director of Hong Kong Unison, said. "I am very happy that they now appreciate the language talent of these people." Wong said the force had shown a growing awareness of the need to engage minorities, noting that it had recently hired five South Asian community liaison officers. But even with the revised recruitment procedure very few were likely to be able to join the police because they could not pass the Chinese language requirement, Wong said. In a further change, candidates who fail the HKCEE Chinese examination are allowed to take a more practical government standard examination in the language. Candidates will also be asked to write reports after watching English and Chinese video clips showing the public asking police for help. Cheung rejected suggestions that the review, effective this month, had anything to do with an increasing number of crimes involving South Asians. The police also refused to say how many applicants were from minorities or how many were working in the force now. Nepali Dil Bahadur Limbu was shot dead by police constable Hui Ka-ki on a Ho Man Tin hillside in March 2009. A 76-day inquest found that Limbu was lawfully killed and it did not make any recommendations to prevent similar fatalities. Wong said the case was pivotal because police had taken many initiatives to engage minorities groups since then, including holding meetings with ethnic community leaders and engaging minority youths. A recruitment talk and preliminary selection will be held at the police cadet school in Wong Chuk Hang next Saturday. |