Shenzhou X spacecraft mission a success [China Daily] #RisingChina #Space

Shenzhou 10 神舟十号 returns: Even when starving and purged of wonder, long-range propulsion never left the sights of the Chinese leadership in Mao’s era… That determination persists. That it is now expressive and spacefaring in the span of decades since is demonstrative of a particular resilience.

Check out Wang Yaping’s science lesson on Tiangong-1 天宫 lab here. She happens to be the second Chinese female taikonaut – in the space of a year.

. . . Compared with its previous mission Shenzhou-9 last year, the Shenzhou X is no longer experimental but considered an applicable shuttle system for transporting astronauts and supplies to orbiting modules.

. . . China is the third country after the United States and Russia to acquire the technologies and skills necessary for space rendezvous and docking procedures, as well as supply manpower and material for an orbiting module via different docking methods.

The autonomous Tiangong project, first authorized in 1999 – culminates in an orbital station.

For more, please see –
China’s Shenzhou-10 Crew Returns to Earth by Universe Today on June 26, 2013

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Shenzhou X spacecraft mission a success
By Xin Dingding
Source – China Daily, published June 26, 2013

Astronauts (L to R) Zhang Xiaoguang, Nie Haisheng and Wang Yaping wave to the welcoming crowd after they go out of Shenzhou X spacecraft’s return capsule on Wednesday morning. [Photo/Xinhua]

Astronauts (L to R) Zhang Xiaoguang, Nie Haisheng and Wang Yaping wave to the welcoming crowd after they go out of Shenzhou X spacecraft’s return capsule on Wednesday morning. [Photo/Xinhua]

Three astronauts who completed China’s longest manned space mission returned to Earth safely Wednesday morning, marking another step forward towards the country’s goal of building a permanent manned space station by 2020.

Zhang Youxia, commander-in-chief of China’s manned space program, said the Shenzhou X mission was a “complete success”.

The reentry module of Shenzhou X landed safely on a sun-lit prairie in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at about 8:07 a.m. Wednesday. All three astronauts were in good physical condition.

Nie Haisheng, commander of the Shenzhou X crew and a second-time space traveler, was the first to emerge out of the bowl-like module, followed by Wang Yaping, the only female astronaut of the mission, and Zhang Xiaoguang.

During a brief welcoming ceremony held at the landing area, the astronauts waved merrily to a crowd composed of military officers, the search and recovery team, and health personnel.

“It feels really good to be back home,” said astronaut Nie Haisheng.

“We are dreamers, and we have now fulfilled our dream,” said Zhang Xiaoguang. “Our space dream knows no boundary, and our hard work will never cease,” he said.

Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli arrived at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center Wednesday morning and watched the live broadcast of the return and recovery of Shenzhou X there.

Zhang delivered a congratulatory note on behalf of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the State Council, and the Central Military Commission, celebrating the success of the Shenzhou X mission.

The Shenzhou X is China’s first application-oriented space flight.

Compared with its previous mission Shenzhou-9 last year, the Shenzhou X is no longer experimental but considered an applicable shuttle system for transporting astronauts and supplies to orbiting modules.

The mission aims to further test technologies designed for docking and supporting astronauts’ stay in space, as well as to use new technologies related to the construction of a space station, a spokeswoman for China’s manned space program told the press prior to the launch of the Shenzhou X spacecraft on June 11.

In its 15-day journey in space, Shenzhou X docked with the orbiting space lab Tiangong-1 twice, once through automatic operation and the other manual.

The astronauts spent 12 days in Tiangong-1, where they conducted space medical experiments, technical tests and delivered a lecture to students on Earth about basic physics principles.

The Shenzhou X mission was the first high-profile space mission after Xi Jinping took office as China’s President in March this year.

On June 24, Xi made a video call to the astronauts, during which he said “the space dream is part of the dream to make China stronger.”

“With the development of space programs, the Chinese people will take bigger strides to explore further into the space,” the President said.

China is the third country after the United States and Russia to acquire the technologies and skills necessary for space rendezvous and docking procedures, as well as supply manpower and material for an orbiting module via different docking methods.

Previous docking procedures conducted between Shenzhou-type spacecraft and the orbiting space lab included two automated dockings by the unmanned Shenzhou-8 in 2011 and both an automated and manual docking by the manned Shenzhou-9 in 2012.

The Tiangong-1 space lab has been in orbit for more than 600 days. It is designed to function for two years. The module is considered the first step in building a permanent space station in the future.

Since its first manned space mission in 2003, China has sent ten astronauts and six spacecrafts into the space.

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, China Dream, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Domestic Growth, Education, Government & Policy, Green China, Ideology, Influence, Modernisation, Nationalism, Peaceful Development, Public Diplomacy, Religion, Resources, Science, space, Strategy, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), Technology, The Chinese Identity

A letter to China’s first space teacher from U.S. predecessor [Xinhua]

From space, we’re all just part of the same pale blue dot…

To better days ahead!

To Morgan, distance cannot separate Americans and Chinese, and teaching seems to have no boundary.

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A letter to China’s first space teacher from U.S. predecessor
by Xinhua writer Guo Shuang
Source – Xinhua, published June 16, 2013

A letter to China’s first space teacher from U.S. predecessor

Graphics shows a letter to Wang Yaping, astronaut on China’s Shenzhou-10 spacecraft, from the first astronaut teacher Barbara Morgan written in Los Angeles, the United States, on June 13, 2013. (Xinhua/Gao Wei,Guo Shuang)

LOS ANGELES, June 15 (Xinhua) — While China’s first space teacher Wang Yaping is orbiting the earth, Barbara Morgan, the world’s first astronaut who ever taught in space, was signing her name on a letter to greet the Chinese newcomer.

“I wish you could see smiles on my face, I am just really, really happy,” Morgan told Xinhua via telephone when she was asked to comment on the launch of China’s Shenzhou-10 spacecraft.

To Morgan, distance cannot separate Americans and Chinese, and teaching seems to have no boundary. “All over the world, we are really very exited,” Morgan said.

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, China Dream, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Domestic Growth, Education, Ideology, Influence, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, Modernisation, Peaceful Development, Reform, Research, Science, Soft Power, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, U.S.

A better way to learn Chinese? [BBC] #RisingChina #LearningChinese

To find consensus through a common language is great, but unmatched by the narrative when two are able to speak the other’s native tongue to comprehend the ideologies behind each other’s world view.

That there is much attention in mastering Chinese is inspiring for the future. The Chinese are still sparing no expense to master English. A return in favor by the global village will be a positive reply.

Apart from committed socialization, perhaps watching Mandarin MTVs (they usually come with lyrics and feature commonly used words and expressions) could be added to the learning repertoire. Have a mental singalong and play mix and match with the lyrics while the visuals provide a useful imprint.

Move up to TV shows next. With reading of Chinese characters upgraded, the semantic toolbox gets pre loaded with familiar symbols.

Just recall scenes from the MTVs for more advanced idioms for instance.

In any case, to treat it as an academic subject is a whole different ball game altogether. The BBC talks about the constructivism underlying Chinese characters and meaning.

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A better way to learn Chinese?
By Philip Ball
Source – BBC, published March 18, 2013

There’s been a rising dissatisfaction with current language teaching methods in China, but scientists think they may have an answer.

There’s no way round it: learning Chinese is tough. As far as reading goes, what most dismays native speakers of alphabetic languages is that Chinese characters offer so few clues. With virtually no Spanish, I can figure out in the right context that baño means bath, but that word in Chinese (洗澡) seems to offer no clues about pronunciation, let alone meaning.

There seems no alternative, then, but to slavishly learn the 3,500 or so characters that account for at least 99% of use in written Chinese. This is hard even for native Chinese speakers, usually demanding endless rote copying in school. And even then, it is far more common than is often admitted for Chinese people to forget even quite routine characters, such as 钥匙 (key). As a result, there’s been a rising dissatisfaction with current language teaching methods in China in recent years.

Is there a better way? Physicist Jinshan Wu of Beijing Normal University, a specialist in the new mathematical science of network theory, and colleagues have investigated the structural relationships between Chinese characters to develop a learning strategy that exploits these connections.

Please click here to read the full article at the BBC.

Filed under: BBC, Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, China Dream, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, History, Ideology, Influence, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, Media, Modernisation, Peaceful Development, People, Public Diplomacy, Research, Science, Social, Soft Power, Strategy, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, U.K.

China tests self-developed-biofuel flight [Xinhua] #RisingChina #BioJetFuel #Aviation

Palm + recycled cooking oil = Bio-Jet fuel. China becomes fourth country to independently produce bio-jet fuel…

More on Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company at its official site here. For a Businessweek snapshot, click here.

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China tests self-developed-biofuel flight
Editor: Chen Zhi
Source – Xinhua, published April 24, 2013

Source – news.com.cn

A ceremony is held to celebrate the test flight of an airplane using aviation biofuel at the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai, east China, April 24, 2013. Sinopec, China’s top oil refiner, announced the success of the first test flight powered by the company’s newly developed aviation biofuel product on Wednesday. An Airbus A320 owned by China Eastern Airlines landed at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on Wednesday morning after completing an 85-minute journey using Sinopec’s aviation biofuel, the company said. The biofuel made of palm oil and recycled cooking oil was produced by Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)

China on Wednesday successfully conducted a first test flight powered by self-developed biofuel made mainly from palm oil and recycled cooking oil.

An Airbus A320 operated by China Eastern Airlines landed at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 7:08 a.m. after completing an 85-minute journey using aviation biofuel produced by Sinopec, the country’s top oil refiner.

The success made China the fourth country after the United States, France and Finland to boast independent production of bio-jet-fuel.

Filed under: Aviation, Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Domestic Growth, Economics, Environment, Government & Policy, Influence, Infrastructure, Nationalism, Public Diplomacy, Reform, Resources, Science, Soft Power, Strategy, Technology, The Chinese Identity, xinhua

Space station dream closer [China Daily] #China #Space

On the Chinese final frontier.

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Space station dream closer
By Xin Dingding
Source – China Daily, published March 8, 2013

A space lab will be launched in two years ahead of a key fueling experiment vital for the building of a space station, a leading official with the manned space program said.

Shortly after the lab goes into orbit, a freighter will be launched. Tests and research on the freighter technology have produced encouraging results, said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of the manned space program and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

The space lab, Tiangong-2, will be built using backup craft for the Tiangong-1 space module.
Tiangong-1 was launched in September 2011. Tiangong-2 will have a number of upgrades and modifications, the most important being its ability to refuel from the freighter, he said.
China will work to build a space station after the Tiangong-2 space lab completes its mission, Zhou added.

Filed under: Aviation, Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Domestic Growth, Economics, Finance, Government & Policy, Hard Power, Influence, International Relations, military, Nationalism, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Science, space, Strategy, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), Technology, Territorial Disputes, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities

Behind China’s Roaring Solar Industry #GreenChina #Solar #HarvardBusinessReview

Harvard Business Review: ‘China’s National Energy Administration announced its intention to add 10 gigawatts of solar power capacity in 2013.’

The time to cross great divides and collaboratively develop a sustainable, profitable development model for Green China to come. The travels around China’s east coast, periphery and centre have revealed early seeds sown – solar heating and panels were a dime a dozen atop rooftops even in China’s far flung out frontiers. Perhaps, like a good tennis stroke, a good follow through; with sensible business minds, is needed to convert more of its burgeoning middle class into proponents of renewable energy.

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Behind China’s Roaring Solar Industry
by Michael J. Silverstein |
Source – Harvard Business Review, published Jan 11, 2013

Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that Chinese solar stocks had soared based on market expectations that demand in China for alternative energy will increase given the Chinese government’s increasing solar capacity targets. Earlier this week, China’s National Energy Administration announced its intention to add 10 gigawatts of solar power capacity in 2013, more than twice its current level. According to Barron’s and others, China has already begun implementing its ambitious plan to increase installations. It previously approved the Golden Sun initiative for the first half of this year and committed prodigious amounts of government cash to the sector.

China has also begun offering subsidies for rooftop solar projects. These aren’t controversial production-side subsidies (of the kind that have been challenged as contravening international trade agreements) but rather incentivizing domestic subsidies intended to help Chinese citizens and organizations to purchase solar systems at an affordable price. This week, the share price of Trina Solar Ltd. the nation’s third-biggest maker of solar panels, jumped to the highest level in five months even as that of LDK Solar Co. rallied 7.7 percent.

Although some commentators may see this uptick in China’s solar investments (and equity values) as an intriguing short term phenomenon, we at The Boston Consulting Group believe it reflects a public commitment on the part of China’s government to embrace clean energy sources and to seek economic growth that is less energy dependent, as well as these profound long-term trends:

Please click here to read the rest of the article at the source.

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Climate Change, Collectivism, Culture, Domestic Growth, Economics, Government & Policy, Green China, Influence, Infrastructure, Lifestyle, Population, Reform, Science, Technology, The Chinese Identity, China's Rise

Questioning attitude pivotal: giving Chinese think tanks valuable answers [China Daily Europe]

China Daily: A glimpse into the thinkers and acquirers of the complex vein of Chinese data.

More on the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (now 31 research units strong, run directly by the State Council and established in 1977) here.

Recently, Fan Jida, an associate professor at CAG, surveyed 210 officials at director-general level to identify the top 10 key economic issues facing the 18th National Congress of the CPC. More than 70 percent pointed to the real estate sector, while 69 percent said food safety should be improved. Small and medium-sized enterprises drew the least attention – just 11 percent.

“China has about 50,000 officials at this level and we surveyed 210 for one questionnaire. Who else could invite so many top leaders to give their views at the same time?” said Fan. In this way, Fan and his fellow researchers are able to gauge which topics are the most important.

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Questioning attitude gives think tanks valuable answers
By Hu Yongqi
Source – China Daily, published September 20, 2012

Institutions play a vital role in getting data, reports Hu Yongqi.

In the main building of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in downtown Beijing, Xu Jin and his colleagues were preparing to move to a new office. Everything was packed, except for a mountain of questionnaire papers and publications.

“The cities and the rural areas are different, and the interior is different from the coastal areas. So we have to go to these places to investigate the characteristics of the local workforce. It’s the only way to acquire precise data.”
Xu Jin, deputy director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics
Source – China Daily, 2012

In the past two months, researchers have collected 4,000 copies of a questionnaire about the workforce in Shanghai and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu. The papers were safely locked up in a meeting room, along with some other publications, to ensure they weren’t lost in the move that had brought chaos to the offices.

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Danwei, Domestic Growth, Economics, Education, Environment, Finance, Government & Policy, Media, Modernisation, New Leadership, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Research, Resources, Science, Social, Strategy, China's Rise, Media, Science, Statistics, Strategy

S’pore welcomes resident pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia [Straits Times]

2,000 miles onboard a Singapore Airlines flight and Sino-Singapore panda diplomacy will be set in place/exerted for the next ten years. Will it help defuse some of the anti-Chinese vitriol on an increasingly compact island-state?

Caricature: Singapore’s local Orang Utans rubbing in the anti-foreign talent spiel to the Chinese pandas. Source – by Ching Choon Hiong, The New Paper, Singapore

 

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S’pore welcomes resident pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia Photo Gallery
by Jessica Lim
Source – Straits Times, published September 7, 2012

Airside crew securing the cage holding Jia Jia who was loaded after Kai Kai on board the Singapore Airlines cargo plane at the tarmac of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport Cargo Terminal. — ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG

Unveiling of pandas Kai Kai (left) and Jia Jia (right) before VIPs and media on the tarmac of Freighter Bay 509 on Sept 6, 2012. They flew over 2,000 miles via Singapore Airlines Cargo from Chengdu to their new home in Singapore. — ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

Please click here to access the full gallery at Singapore’s national broadsheet.

Filed under: ASEAN, Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Government & Policy, Influence, International Relations, Panda Diplomacy, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Science, Singapore, Soft Power, Straits Times, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, China's Rise, culture, International Relations, Public Diplomacy, Science, Singapore, Strategy

[Singapore] Pandas from China to arrive by year-end [Channel News Asia]

Pandas are the gentler face of Chinese soft power. There was previously debate amongst the Chinese if the panda should replace the dragon as representative of Chinese identity. However, rise of the panda never resonated as well as rise of the dragon. In any case…

Panda diplomacy meant to celebrate two decades of diplomatic ties between Singapore and China back in 2010 is finally going to be realised end 2012. Singapore is to be the seventh country to receive a panda on loan from China.

Capitaland, a Singapore developer that has huge inroads into the Chinese property market will be sponsor over a ten year period for facilitaties such as a climate-controlled enclosure, 8,000m2 of bamboo and breeding programmes.

For more, see Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs ‘Pandas should arrive by year-end’ and Straits Times ‘Panda exhibit featuring Kai Kai and Jia Jia to open in December’ (August 15, 2012)

And here’s a reaction from an influential blogger from Singapore, Mr Brown.

Mr Brown makes allusions to Singapore’s issues with overwhelming numbers of foreign talent/workers currently making up more than a third of Singapore’s total population. Source – mrbrown.com, Sep 2012

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Pandas from China to arrive by year-end
By Kristine Lim
Source – Channel News Asia, published July 6, 2012

SINGAPORE: A pair of giant pandas from China will arrive in Singapore by the end of the year. The pandas, Kai Kai and Jia Jia, will be on loan to Singapore for 10 years, to foster good ties between the two countries.

This was confirmed after the 9th meeting of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation in Suzhou, co-chaired by Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and China Vice Premier Wang Qi Shan.

DPM Teo and Mr Wang also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding with respect to the scope of banking services under the China-Singapore FTA.

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Channel News Asia, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Education, Influence, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, Overseas Chinese, Panda Diplomacy, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Science, Singapore, Soft Power, Strategy, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, China's Rise, Education, International Relations, Panda Diplomacy, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Singapore

Liu Yang: China sends a woman to the final frontier [Newsweek]

Source – Newsweek, July 2 and 9 double issue, page 8,, 2012

So it seems a wider international audience is getting a healthy dose of Liu Yang, China’s little master stroke to fan the flames of public imagination in the second largest news weekly from the US. A public relations chess move a few games ahead, perhaps? And on page 8 too, a number the Chinese value as prosperous. Titled Liu Yang: China sends a woman to the final frontier, the piece by Melinda Liu is one of few positive China stories that gets international attention nowadays.

This Newsweek report reveals that while China’s first taikonaut Yang Liwei’s 2003 flight was not broadcast live, more than 250 media outlets were at the remote Gobi desert to watch blastoff. The move to have a woman on board, it is reported was to also fulfill expectations of the public on top of the fundamental aim of advancing human spaceflight. If China’s aim was to be on equal footing as the US, then this may be one area where it has done better already.

For decades China was third behind the US and Russia in the rocket race. So, the Chinese have come a long way since the successful launch of the Dong Feng 1 东风 guided rocket launch in 1960. As the rise of China coincides with the power dilution of these two cold war icons, an opening seems ripe for China’s grand entrance; and one with tones of gender equivalence one, 52 years later at that at a time the US retires its shuttle fleet.

Filed under: Aviation, Beijing Consensus, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Education, Human Rights, Influence, International Relations, Liu Yang, Newsweek, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Science, Soft Power, space, Strategy, Technology, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, Uncategorized, Aviation, China National Space Administration, Human Space Missions, Liu Yang, Space