Society

Society

Human Rights White Paper Released

A white paper published on September 12 by the State Council Information Office hailed the progress made in human rights protection in the field of justice as China enhances the rule of law in all respects.

The white paper titled “New Progress in the Judicial Protection of Human Rights in China,”stated that the judiciary was the last line of defense to safeguard social fairness and justice, and judicial protection of human rights was an important part of human rights progress in a country.

It said that in recent years, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), progress had been made in modernizing the system and capacity of state governance. The country has effectively protected people’s rights and freedoms in an extensive array of fields in accordance with the law, while its people have duly fulfilled their obligations.

In particular, the white paper noted that since the CPC’s 18th National Congress, the allocation of judicial powers and responsibilities has been further improved, and the independent and impartial exercise of the judicial and procuratorial power ensured.

The judicial accountability system has been improved, while judicial transparency is now promoted to ensure the right to know and the right to supervise for concerned parties and the public.

Progress has also been made to ensure lawyers’ right of practice, so that lawyers are playing a bigger role in safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of parties concerned.

Chinese Writer Wins Newman Prize

An international jury has selected the Shanghai novelist Wang Anyi as the winner of the fifth Newman Prize for Chinese Literature. Professor Wang, who currently teaches at Fudan University, is the second woman to win the prize, and the third from China’s mainland.

Wang Anyi will receive US $10,000, a commemorative plaque, and a bronze medallion at an academic symposium and award banquet at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, on March 3, 2017.

Wang Anyi’s nominator, Dai Jinhua of Peking University, wrote in her nomination statement, “Over the past 30 or more years, Wang Anyi has continuously transformed her writing and altered her literary directions to produce a spectacular array of works, through which she has created a sort of reality of Chinese-language literature, a city in literature, or even a nation in literature.”

Wang Anyi (b. 1954) was born in Nanjing but she grew up in Shanghai. Wang is prolific and innovative: her seminal works are exclusively narratives of Shanghai. Her novel Song of Everlasting Sorrow won the Fifth Mao Dun Literature Prize and has been translated into many languages. Her other awardwinning novels include Reality and Fiction, Fuping, Fierce Heroes Everywhere, The Age of Enlightenment, and Scent of Heaven.

Sponsored by the University of Oklahoma’s Institute for U.S.-China Issues, the Newman Prize is awarded biennially in recognition of outstanding achievement in prose or poetry that best captures the human condition, and is conferred solely on the basis of literary merit.

Internet Safety for Children Studied

The first report on Internet safety for Chinese children was released recently. Conducted by children’s centers in Guangzhou and 18 other major cities across China, it studied more than 20,000 children aged three to 14, and their parents.

The report found that youngsters’ exposure to digital apparatus now starts from an early age: as many as 91.8 percent of kindergarten pupils (three to six years old) now have access to mobile phones; 83.4 percent to tablets, and 80.6 percent to computers. By the age of nine to 10 years old, their use of these devices is on a par with that of adults.

But minors are vulnerable to breaches of privacy. When asked “What would you do if asked to give personal information online,”only 32.5 percent of them said they would consult their parents first.

The report blames slack supervision by parents for the higher risks facing young Internet users.

Chinese Character Design Contest Concluded

The Beauty of Chinese Characters Global Youth Design Contest held its awards ceremony on September 27 in Beijing. The prize went to 17 works from around the world.

Cosponsored by Beijing Normal University and the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, the biennial contest aims to promote the global recognition of Chinese culture by exploring the creativity of Chinese writing. The subject of the 2016 session was “spiritual life,” requiring participants to design one of 30 selected Chinese characters containing the component“heart” based on their understanding of the word and creative thinking.

Activity

Chapterhouse Theater Company’s production of Sherlock Holmes and The Hound of the Baskervilles

Date: November 2-3, 2016

Place: Guangdong Xinghai Concert Hall

Price: RMB 100/200/280/320

Established in 1999, the Chapterhouse Theater Company debuted in Herstmonceux Castle in the U.K. with a performance of Romeo and Juliet. Over the past 17 years, the company has toured Britain and Ireland, giving rapturously received performances to audiences numbering around 50,000 over each season.

Writing His Life in Music

-- Paul Badura-Skoda Piano Recital

Date: November 6, 2016

Place: Beijing Concert Hall

Price: RMB 80/180/280/480/680/880

Paul Badura-Skoda has long been an icon of Viennese classical music. Holder of the prestigious Bösendorfer-Ring, Badura-Skoda is a celebrated guest at major international music festivals. Famed as a Mozart specialist, he also commands a deep respect for his genuine understanding of Schubert. Badura-Skoda is moreover an accomplished conductor and composer.