Mulan II

Mulan 2 is available for pre-order from Amazon.com for $20.99 (DVD). It ships on February 1, 2005.

With less drama and more slapstick than its predecessor, Disney's Mulan II continues the animated saga of the young Chinese heroine, Fa Mulan (voiced by Ming-Na Wen, sung by Lea Salonga). The story picks up one month after Mulan has saved her country through bravery and determination. Revered by all, she now returns to her village and becomes engaged to General Li Shang. Wedding plans must wait, however, when the Emperor assigns the couple to a secret mission to escort his three princess daughters across China where their arranged marriages to waiting princes will secure an alliance with a rival kingdom and save China from invasion. Meanwhile, Mulan's wise-cracking guardian dragon, Mushu (voiced by Mark Moseley), realizes that if Mulan's marriage takes place, he is out of a job and so he undertakes his "18-phase master plan" of relationship sabotage to breakup the happy couple. Most of the film's jokes come from Moseley's Mushu (as quick-witted as Eddie Murphy's earlier performance), while a trio of prankish soldiers provide additional comic relief. While the film's overall effort is not as sensational as the original, it offers solid family entertainment, healthy female role models, and a handful of catchy songs. (Ages 6 and older)

News

China's leader shows his stripes: More than two years on, Mr Hu has proved himself to be more tiger than horse, taking on Mr Jiang and pushing him aside, then showing his true political colours by cracking down on dissent and squaring up fiercely to Taiwan.

China closes market for pirated goods: The closure of Beijing's famed "Silk Market" is a metaphor for China's handling of U.S. objections to its weak protection of copyrights, patents and trademarks.

China jumps to be world third largest trader: China registered a 35.7 per cent surge in foreign trade last year, accounting for US$1.15 trillion exchanged, to become the world's third largest trading power behind the United States and Germany.

DNA Could Help Solve Ancient Equine Mysteries: An archaeological project will be carried out to conduct a DNA analysis on a dozen horse skeletons unearthed from ancient burial tombs in Shaanxi, an inland province in Northwest China.

China's Lost Girls

National Geographic's DVD China's Lost Girls is available for pre-order at Amazon.com for $13.99. It ships March 1, 2005.

Political Cartoon

This political cartoon, entitled, "The One Child Unemployed" has a mother taking care of a teen-aged son asking, "Aren't you ever going to leave the nest?"

News

Pollution Worsens in China's Seas: A total of 169,000 square kilometers failed to reach the standard of clean water, an increase of 16.0 percent from the previous year. The most heavily polluted areas were concentrated along the coastline, including Bohai Bay and the mouth of the Yangtze River.

China 'ready for Taiwan flights': A delegation of Taiwanese opposition legislators says China has agreed to the first direct charter flights between Taiwan and the mainland.

China Related TV

China Sprout posts a much-appreciated weekly guide for China Related TV listings.

Culture

Mystery of Ancient Carvings Lives On: Tucked away in the depth of Beishan Mountain of Zhongwei County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Damaidi is one of the country's enduring mysteries. Thousands of years ago people carved hundreds of symbols into rocks. Who were they, and why did they painstakingly carve petroglyphs of animals and other figures?

Bringing Kunqu Opera to Life on Campuses: Chinese college students, traditional Kunqu opera will no longer be just a description in a textbook, but a part of campus life. This year, the Ministry of Culture has required each of the country's seven professional Kunqu theatres to give 20 free public performances at Chinese colleges yearly.

In pictures—Harbin ice festival: Thousands of visitors are flocking to China's Heilongjiang province for the 21st International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin.

Tibetan language website launched: A Tibetan language website (www.qh-tibetan.com) on Tibetan culture and progress in areas inhabited by Tibetan people opened recently in Qinghai Province, a multi-ethnic area in northwest China.

Regions and territories—Tibet: Tibet, a remote and strongly-Buddhist territory known as the "roof of the world", is governed as an autonomous region of China.

News

Wealthy Chinese Kids Have Worse Nutrition: A Chinese study has found that children from wealthy families are more likely to suffer bad nutrition than those from low-income homes, partly because they eat more fast food.

Smog enveloped Hong Kong for a fifth of 2004: Hong Kong's pollution problem worsened markedly in 2004 with the city cloaked in choking smog for 65 days throughout the year.

Shanghai Farmers Richest in China: According to the statistics released by Shanghai Municipal Agricultural Administration, the per capita annual income of Shanghai farmers amounted to 7,300 yuan (US$880) last year. (That's $2.40 a day!)

A Divide China Must Conquer: To understand today's China, it is necessary to look beyond the unfathomable ebb and flow of 1.3 billion people. It is only by studying the few that it is possible to grasp what is happening to the overwhelming many—like Yu Jikui, a porter whose slight by a passer-by set off riots in Wanzhou; or the young Yang Shan, whose parents both work in distant cities; or the developer Zhang Yuchen, who built a castle fit for Marie Antoinette where 800 farmers once grew wheat. [NYT: free reg. req.]

Beautiful China

Stamps

The USPS is taking preorders for the Lunar New year reissue of all 12 stamps in the series.

(Thanks Roy from PAC!)