Top Chinese legislator Wu Bangguo elaborated on the essential differences between the system of China’s people’s congresses and Western capitalist countries’ system of political power at the Second Session of the 11th National People’s Congress (NPC) recently. The essential differences are listed as following: Read More…

Chinese calligraphy has been submitted to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a candidate for the Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity (MOIHH) designation.

MOIHH is defined by the UNESCO as the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge and skills that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage.

With a 3,000-year history, Chinese calligraphy developed along with the evolution of Chinese characters, Li Shenghong, an expert with the Chinese National Academy of Arts, said recently.

In China, calligraphy has been revered as an art form since it was first used in the 5th Century B.C., when it began with a simplified script in which the width of the brush strokes varied and the edges and ends were sharp.

Known as the “four treasures of the study“, the paper, ink, brush and ink stone are essential implements of the art. Desk pads and paperweights are also used.

Chinese calligraphy is a unique oriental art of expression and a branch of learning. Through the medium of form, the handling of the brush, presentation, and style, calligraphy is believed to convey the moral integrity, character, emotions and aesthetic feelings of the artist.

Chinese calligraphy survives only as an art form as its practical function has diminished, though tens of millions people still learn and practice it, Li said.

“Being in an endangered position, it’s in urgent need of being inherited and protected.”

In June, the art form was put on the national list of intangible heritage for protection. The UNESCO will publish a decision on the application for world heritage in 2009.

In 2001, China’s Kunqu Opera was listed among the first batch of 19 MOIHH by the UNESCO.

China’s Guqin Music, the 12-part suit of ancient Uygur music “Mukam” and the Changdiao or pastoral songs of the Mongolian ethnic group, are also named MOIHH.

More on World Heritage in Chine (on Youtube):

China’s top political adviser pledged to use religion for promoting social harmony. “We should fully follow the policy on freedom of religious belief, implement the regulations on religious affairs, and conduct thorough research on important and difficult issues related to religion,” said Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

“We should guide religious leaders and believers to improve their lives, and make full use of their positive role in promoting social harmony,” he said in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the first session of the 11th CPPCC National Committee.

The number of Buddhists, Taoists and Christians has been on the rise in recent years, religious officials say, and the central government has been increasingly encouraging religion to play a role in promoting social development.

Figures from the State Administration for Religious Affairs suggest that there are more than 100 million believers in the country, mostly Buddhists, Taoists, Protestants, Catholics and Muslims.

Among them are 18 million Muslims, 10 million Protestants and 4 million Catholics.

Ding Wenfang, vice-president of the China Islamic Association and member of the 11th National Committee of the CPPCC, said fellow members should strengthen national unity and promote religious harmony. “The unity of the 56 ethnic groups in China and religious harmony are necessary to build a harmonious society.”, he said.

Tens of thousands queue to enter the main railway station
in Guangzhou City yesterday
credits: Shanghai Daily

Heavy white storms staged a comeback late yesterday as China’s transport network remained crippled by the heaviest snowfall in five decades.

Millions of people trying to head home for the Spring Festival are stranded.

The big freeze has killed dozens of people, impacted on the lives of at least 80 million others and caused economic losses estimated at more than 53.8 billion yuan (US$7.5 billion).

Snow began to hit central Hunan Province and eastern Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces yesterday afternoon.

The national meteorological center forecast red-alert-level snowstorms in the northern and central parts of Zhejiang today.

Sleet is today set to hit major parts of Guizhou Province, and southern regions of Hunan and central Jiangxi – three areas where icy weather has seriously disrupted power supplies. Fujian Province in the east can also expect sleet, weather experts said.

Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday made a second trip to Changsha, capital of Hunan, within a week to help direct emergency work. Wen visited railways in Changsha and Guangzhou on Monday and Wednesday in an effort to calm stranded passengers. After several days of respite from the heavy snow, traffic along the expressway linking Beijing and Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, began to pick up speed after ice was removed.

More and more trains also resumed operations on the Beijing-Guangzhou railway. The north-south trunk line had been paralyzed since last Saturday from the Hunan section southward where power-transmission facilities were knocked out by heavy snow.

Guangzhou, home to millions of migrant workers seeking to go home for the holidays, has been the worst affected.

The number of stranded people in Guangzhou yesterday dropped to 400,000 from a peak of 800,000.

The cold weather is China’s worst since 1954.

Between January 25 and Thursday, a total of 5.8 million passengers were stranded throughout the railway system, said Zhao Chunlei, deputy director of the Regulation Department of the Ministry of Railways.

So far at least 60 people have been killed and nearly 1.76 million have been relocated.