2018

Approaching the World of Birdhead in Vienna

Birdhead in Vienna   A recent exhibition in Vienna showed the unique art ideas of Birdhead,  which aroused a big interest in understanding the fleeting, mysterious yet real mentality of today’s Shanghai. The interpretation of SCHIFFAMT building in the 2. district of Vienna through the Asian eyes was yet another highlight for the opening ceremony. Birdhead (Song Tao *1979 and Ji Weiyu *1980) have been working together and debating daily since 2004. They are taking over 10,000 photos every year, which are scanned and archived before re-appearing, in small numbers, in their work. No one is familiar with the Birdhead…


Xinjiang’s New Era: A Brief Look Into Corps System

China’s West Region, a historical treasure along the ancient silk road, was renamed Xinjiang, literally meaning new territory, in the year of 1949. Peacefully entering a new era, Xinjiang went through decades of economical re-adjustment as well as administrative re-organization. The so-called „Corps“, a new type of administration coming into being since 1954 with the full name of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, is based on Defense and Production Forces of PLA in 1953. With the initial goal of achieving self-sufficiency in grain and non-staple food supply,  the Corps both functions as frontier garrison force and production units. The Corps…


Ningxia, A Wine Paradise in China

Recently, a trip to Ningxia became a fascinating wine-tasting experience for me. A bottle of red wine there made me believe I was back in Bordeaux. It was a cuvee with 80% of Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% of Merlot and 5% of Cabernet Gernischt. Pure joy with absolute high quality! In the following days, more wine with Merlot, Sirah and Cabernet attracted my attention, leaving me crave for some research into this wine paradise in China. Among the eight main wine producing areas in China, Ningxia, located in the middle of Chinese territory, is obviously the most suitable for grape planting…


Songshan Forum – Dialogue between Chinese and Other World Civilization

Songshan Forum, a unique international cultural platform at the foot of Songshan, Henan Province, where the world-renowned Shao Lin Si is located, has opened its 7th annual meeting today.  Aimed at the goal of “Multicultural Coexistence, Harmonious Symbiosis and Sharing Future”, this year’s Forum has summoned more than 60 scholars from around the world, including those from Russia, India, Austria and America. Of all science academies in the world, approximately a  third have visited this forum. The symposia cover a wide range of topics such as Cultural Pluralism and Civilization, Harmonious Living and Sharing Future, Philosophical Reflections on Religion in a Secular Age, Moral Commitment with Universalist Implications, Intellectual Interactions Between Christians and Zen Buddhists…


Refreshing Changchun, Rapturous Summer

    Changchun has a summer festival. For more than ten years, , Changchun’s summer festival has held exhibitions as well as economic and trade activities such as the Summer Beer Festival, the Auto Expo, the Auto Festival, the Sculpture Exhibition, the Folk Expo and the Agricultural Fair. The festival has invited domestic and foreign tourism agencies to come to Changchun to participate in the event. The summer festival has brought exchanges and cooperations between Changchun and other parts of the world, boosted the domestic and overseas tourism industry, and increased Changchun’s popularity greatly. Located in the geographic and geometric…


International Women’s Day – 50 years after 1968

During the French Revolution, Olympe de Gouche unmasked the proclaimed Human Rights as men`s rights, and demanded equal rights for women. She was beheaded. Throughout history, feminist ideas and movements have often arisen together with revolutionary movements. In patriarchal societies, always and everywhere, women have revolted – individually and collectively – against violence, suppression and exploitation. But much of  “history” of women’s quest for self-determination has either never been written, or has been wiped out. In the US, the Women`s Movement emerged from the Anti-Slavery Movement, which had begun in the first half of the 19th century. The two main…


Stealing Heaven

The Chinese artist Ms Jing SONG has just had a solo art exhibition in Vienna with “STEALING HEAVEN” as the motif. STEALING HEAVEN is devoted to the moment at which a particular development culminates and in the end breaks off. The project tells of life in a state of wind-stillness, of circumstances to which one has accustomed oneself, of tranquil presence, trance; up to a point of realization or action. A moment of rupture in which the self is both the shipwrecked castaway and the onlooker. (1)Seconds, minutes or years can pass before the eyes open. “[…] We all want to…


The Wonderful World of the 10th Spring Festival Evening in Vienna

Singing, dancing, cabaret, martial arts,  local operas, model show, solo instrument and orchestra… For the past ten years, a big event for the Chinese community as well as the oversees Chinese students in Austria is, doubtlessly, the Spring Festival Evening in Vienna. Initiated by Ms Feiru XIE and her Chinese Women’s Association in Austria,  the performance evening has been supported by the City Government of Vienna and the Chinese Embassy in Austria, growing into probably the biggest of its kind among the Chinese communities in Europe. The brilliant evening with its endless talents on the  stage is corresponding to the…


A Glimpse Back at DAVOS 2018

Recently, the 48th World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded its annual meeting in Davos. From the 23. to the 26. of January, 2018,  WEF saw a record high in participation numbers, hosting more than 3,000 guests, among them around 70 heads of state. This year’s WEF was held at a time when fake news were no joke, challenging global politics. AI and Blockchain technology are shaking the business world. Meanwhile, environmental problems including climate changes and plastics pollution pose no less troubling issues. It is a time when human beings are becoming more conscious of social change. We are willing to ponder more on our…


Refugees, Human Rights & Alpine Peace Crossing

  Dear Visitors, welcome to Sinopress Interview! Human rights, a topic as old as humanity itself, has never ceased to be a hot issue throughout human history. Thomas Jefferson wrote in the U.S. Declaration of Independence that „All men are created equal“. Since then, this sentence might be the most quoted one. Yet easy said, difficult done! The implementation of human rights has been encountering dilemma and improbable situations all the way through the human civilization. As our world is turning more and more mobile, human rights are facing new challenges caused by political impasse, cultural conflicts, economic disaster and…