Chinese Women:How Far Have We Come in the Past Five Years?

AT the intersection of the old and new centuries, the Eighth National Women's Congress is being convened so that Chinese women of all professions and all ethnicities can review the distance travelled in the past five years since the last congress, assess the gains made, and then define the direction to head in the future.     

Jiang Zemin Receives New ACWF Leadership

FOUR days after the adjournment of the 8th Chinese Women's National Congress, President Jiang Zemin received all the newly-elected members of the executive committee and several deputies at Zhongnanhai. Gu Xiulian, Vice President and the First Member of the Secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), briefed Jiang on the congress. She said deputies had reached consensus on certain issues: that women should capitalize on their abilities in the overall social participation; that the uplifting of women's quality should be seen as a long-term strategy; and that women's development requires a supportive social environment. Jiang Zemin listened attentively to the speeches delivered by seven deputies. Jiang Daguo, president of Hubei Provincial Women's Federation, from one of the     

1949:The First National Women's Congress

LOOKING back at the history of the Chinese women's national congress is a reminder of the storms weathered by pioneering Chinese women on their path towards emancipation. As the eighth National Women's Congress convenes in September in Beijing, it may be instructive to look at the first women's national congress, which was held on the eve of the founding of New China.     

编者寄语(英文)

The Ninth National Women's Congress is over.Many importantresults were achieved during the great congress:The All-ChinaWomen's Federation completed its first transfer of leadershipin the new century;an amendment to the Constitution ofAll-China Women's Federation was passed;and the congress set thedevelopment goals regarding Chinese women's cause in the new century.Of     

编者寄语(英文)

Chinese women's grand festival, the Ninth National Women's Congress, will convene in Beijing in August. The congress is held every five years, in accordance with the All-China Women's Federation's (ACWF) regulations. The congress this year willfocus on uniting and mobilizing women nationwide in the struggle to realize comfortable living standards.     

建议

When I visited Beijing, I was surprised to see a bus numbered ＂666＂ driving throughout the city. I found it very unnerving; ＂666＂ is usually the sign for the devil. I never thought I＇d see it out in broad daylight, much less on a bus! I＇m sure that the Chinese don＇t see it that way; otherwise, they would have never let that number show up anywhere.     

When One Is Over 40 Years Old

AN 80-year old woman, who was recovering from a bone injury, once told me that she would be traveling around the world for the rest of her life. Listening to her touching and admirable plan, I realized that the loss of one's ability to do a certain thing will cultivate a longing for that particular thing. This longing was also with me the year I became 40. At that time, I frequently thought back over all l had done during the past 40 years, I     

读者来信

Dear Women of China, I enjoyed reading about James Chau in your April issue. I used to live in Beijing and I watched CCTV for my daily news fix. I＇ve always wondered why Chau liked to lean towards the side like that. I＇m glad that was mentioned in your article, and that be answered the question so thoroughly and honestly. Thank you for clearing up that question for     

读者来信(英文)

Dear Women of China, I like that you put listings in the back of the magazine.However,I do not find the events interesting.They are not the kind of events that I would normally go to. You should have some information about rock concerts(such as Air coming to China),brand fashion events and such     

To Keep the Tears to Myself

In the six years that I have lived in Beijing as a migrant worker, I have experienced the ups and downs of reality. I am no longer the girl of six years ago who left home for the big city. As far as women migrant workers are concerned, I dare say that I could be considered a success story, because I have learned…     

A Soldier on the Roof of the World

IT was during the Cultural Revolution, in, the year that I turned 16, that I put on an army uniform, got on a train, and left Beijing for Urumqi in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. After six days of driving on the vast Gobi Desert, I reached Kashi of southern Xinjiang. After another six days' severe jolting, I arrived at the hig'nest land in China. I was one of the five first women soldiers     

A De'ang Wedding

Every wedding is different, but somehow they are all the same. That is what I felt when I attended the wedding of Yang Yubu, a De'ang young woman who is an acquaintance of mine. Chudonggua Village is located at the eastern part of Santai Township. It is about 30 kilometers away from tile seat of Mangshi. When I learned that Yubu was going to get married, I jumped onto a shuttle bus that would take me past the foot of the mountain where the village sits. Halfway along the journey, I disembarked and started     

Spirit Coinciding with Nature

I have given a name to the studio where I make my soft sculptures: "Spirit Existing." It means that my life exists together with my spirit; that spirit is inseparable from body. I believe the original nature of life is the most beautiful thing in the world. On September 6th, 1997, I handed in my resignation to the tax bureau where I worked. Leaving my family and my son at home, I came to Beijing alone to create a new life for myself. As a woman making such a choice at the age of 35, I     

建议(英文)

Editor Paloma Robles,from Spain.answers readers' questions about traveling to China. Dear Paloma, I am coming to the Beijing Olympics in August.I have heard that secunty controls have increased in the past few months,and that foreigners have to register at the     

Disabled Athlete Wins Olympic Gold

Iam 21 years old. My home is in a small village of Putian, Fujian Province. Like thousands of healthy children, I once had a colorful childhood. Unexpectedly, however, I contracted an eye disease at the age of 13 and began to gradually lose my eyesight. At first, I cherished a gleam of hope that heaven would kindly make me see light again someday. My mother took me to one hospital after another for treatment, but my eyesight remained dim. I became frightened and restless. I realized that sometime soon I might no longer be able to see my mother's kind face, my father's thin figure, the golden rape flowers in the fields, or the meandering stream by the village. In the daytime, the adults went to work in the fields and the children went to school. I was left alone in the empty house. I tried     

I Headed the Red Army Women's Pioneer Corps

Anative of Aocheng city of Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, I joined the revolution in March of 1930. In May that same year, I joined the Communist Youth League. Later, I became head of the women's department of Youth Communist International (YCI) of the Zhiyang District Committee and also head of the women's department of the YCI of the Ji'an County Committee. At that time, women were deeply tied up by feudal ethics and followed the three     

An Invitation to Tea

TEA-drinking is very popular in southwest China's Sichuan Province, especially in the provincial capital Chengdu. Some people estimate that the number of tea houses in Chengdu is greater than that of restaurants in Beijing. I, too, have developed the habit of having a cup of tea in the morning. On holidays, when I am free in the morning, I get up early to rush to a tea house,     

Spring Festival Drama Show

"Pull the saw, drag the saw, An opera is by Granny's door; Mom will go and so will Dad Granny has invited us all..." This is the nursery rhyme that is always ringing in my ears during the Spring Festival. Whenever I hear it, my childhood days come rushing back to me and I remember how much joy the opera performances at the Spring Festival brought us. It is true that I always watched the     

Flying Thoughts

ON a boundless stretch of wilderness, weeds sway in the breeze and riotous clouds float against the dark distant horizon. It seems that I am not myself. I feel as if I am the breeze sweeping the treetops, or the grasses being swayed. I feel I have mingled myself with the earth and the sky; my mind, like an eagle, soars up into the high heavens, roams through the universe and then disappears into the immense cosmos. I feel     

Professional Women in China： Back to Basics

I want to share a practical assignment that I often use with clients, I＇ve just returned from a first meeting with a client who will spend the nextfew months completing a communication-coaching program that I offer. While specific objectives differ from person to person, the general purpose of the program is to help （usually female） Chinese professionals improve their ability to communicate, at a regional or global level, with confidence and influence.