Articles by Helen Chang

The Legend and Poetry on the Moon Festival

Today (21. 09. 2021), a traditional festival is celebrated in China with the beautiful full moon in the sky and the delicious moon cakes in the hand. The festival is called the Mid-Autumn Festival (or Moon Festival), that falls on the 15th day of the eighth month according to the Chinese lunar calendar. A legend about the festival tells a story of a fairy maiden named Chang’e, who flew to the moon and lives hence there with a cute white rabbit. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, family members would get together to enjoy the moon (which is supposed…


Announcement of Online Forum on “Nobel Peace Prize and Peace-Making”

We are proud to announce the upcoming forum on Friday, 17. September, 2021 on the topic of „ Nobel Peace Prize and Peace-Making””, an event co-organized by URBAN FORUM and SINOPRESS.   Time: 3.30pm – 5.00pm CET Venue: Online Conference ZOOM Link: https://zoom.us/j/93279832199?pwd=Y1IwRVM2eFR5VXJ6WG85YUZOdUxrZz09 Meeting-ID: 932 7983 2199 Passcode: 631772   Agenda: Early this year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee stated that 329 candidates have been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. Among the announced individuals and organizations are NATO, Alexei Navalny, Black Lives Matter, Martin Lee and Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, etc… The question is: What is the ultimate goal…


Privacy vs. Security in a Brave New World

  Privacy vs. Security in a Brave New World — Pegasus spyware and the problem of electronic mass surveillance for human rights and democracy By Mag. David Kainrath   Recent revelations about the Pegasus spyware are just the latest in a long row of disconcerting news of digital mass surveillance. At the heart of the problem lies the technological possibility for governments and companies to put everyone under complete electronic surveillance and thereby violate the human right to privacy. Apart from the severe loss of personal freedom that every individual suffers who is a victim of electronic spying, a political…


UN Statement on IPCC Report upon Global Heating

On 9. August 2021, The UN Secretary-General António Guterres made a statement on the IPCC working group I report on the physical science basis of the sixth assessment: Today’s IPCC Working Group 1 Report is a code red for humanity.  The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable:  greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk.  Global heating is affecting every region on Earth, with many of the changes becoming irreversible. The internationally agreed threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius is perilously close. We are at imminent…


Review of Forum on “the Role of NGOs in the Course of Human Civilization”

On Wednesday, 30. June, 2021, 10 NGOs from Switzerland, Israel, Hungary and Austria respectively gathered together for an online forum on the topic of „The Role of NGOs in the Course of Human Civilization”, an event co-organized by URBAN FORUM and SINOPRESS, moderated by Ms MMag. Alice Schmatzberger from ChinaCultureDesk. Topics discussed during the forum included problems in protecting human rights under international humanitarian law, definition and realization of human rights, role of cultural differences in interpreting human rights, security and human rights, hegemonial power and double moral standard, and the role of NGOs in the future course of humanity,…


Forum on „The Role of NGOs in the Course of Human Civilization”

  We are proud to announce the upcoming forum on Wednesday, 30. June, 2021 focusing on the topic of „The Role of NGOs in the Course of Human Civilization”, an event co-organized by URBAN FORUM and SINOPRESS.   Time: 10am – 11.30am CET Venue: Online Conference ZOOM Link:  https://zoom.us/j/98457057125   Agenda: Surfing the internet these days, one can easily find innumerable amounts of NGOs dedicating to the course of human civilization, maintaining the decency of humanity, bringing to attention the forgotten parts of the world, fighting for human rights and offering a helping hand wherever necessary. As is justified, human…


Once upon a time in China

“Once upon a time in China”: memories from acquaintances and strangers, touching, dramatic, romantic and bizarre…     Dear reader, On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Austro-Chinese diplomatic relations 1971-2021, we’d like to recommend this fascinating new book by BACOPA to you with the original title of “Es war einmal in China”.   Words by Prof. Kaminski as Editor: It was the idea of ​​the publisher Walter Fehlinger to bring out an anthology on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Austrian-Chinese diplomatic relations. This is another step in a direction where Walter Fehlinger and his…


Forum Review on “Protection of Civilians amid Terrorism Prevention”

On 21. April, SINOPRESS held another online forum in cooperation with URBAN FORUM on the topic of “Protection of Civilians amid Terrorism Prevention”. The panelists include Mag. Marcus Schober (Austrian politician, Director of the Vienna Education Academy, Member of the Vienna State Parliament and City Council),   Prof. Dr. Georg Zanger (Well-known Austrian lawyer, President of ACBA),   Dr. Mag. Nicolas Stockhammer (Security Policy Analyst & Counterterrorism Researcher, Institute for Legal Philosophy, Vienna University)   and Mag. David Kainrath (Political scientist, Expert for the European affairs).   Mag. Bernhard Müller from URBAN FORUM   and Mag. Helena Chang from SINOPRESS…


Online Forum “Protection of Civilians amid Terrorism Prevention”

Dear Reader, After the first successful forum cooperation between SINOPRESS and URBAN FORUM in March on the topic of “Terror Attack, Security and Human Rights”, we are proud to announce our next forum on 21. April with the topic of “Protection of Civilians amid Terrorism Prevention”. The required ongoing anti-terrorist campaign worldwide is drawing more and more attention to the safety of the civilians in the conflicting countries or regions. The intricacy and delicacy amid terrorism prevention has been causing complications in protecting the rights and the safety of the innocent civilians. The COVID-19 pandemic is only adding insult to…


Video: Big Design of Hainan Free Trade Port

  The “Finanzen” platform in Austria published an article from SCIO concerning the press conference held on 12, April about the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP). In this context, we’d like to share a short video with the reader about Hainan FTP here. The video talked about Hainan FTP’s system design and its concrete measures. For those who’d like to know more about this potentially huge open market, the video offers a good window into the garden of Hainan story. As is stated by the “Finanzen” reporting on the press conference, there has been an explosive growth in foreign investment over…