Events

Diplomatic pouch: With mike peters

Celebrating the royal wedding last Friday between Prince William and Katherine Middleton, British Ambassador Sebastian Wood hosted Chinese and foreign guests, including guest of honor Fu Ying, vice-foreign minister and former Chinese ambassador to the UK.

Also at the party were three orphaned teenagers from Yunnan province, who had written to the royal couple in the hope of attending the wedding in London. Li Li, 15, Gao Feng, 14, and Cao Xiaoyan, 16, each sent letters expressing their best wishes for the married couple, according to the UK embassy website. They wrote: "I do hope the real prince and princess will hold each other's love till the end"; "I wish my blessing could fly over the sea to add your joy"; "I always hoped that there would be a true love story of a Prince".

Staff members at the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, who work closely with orphans in Yunnan province, were so touched by the letters that they asked the embassy in Beijing how to help make the children's dream come true. Though the embassy was unable to send the three children to the UK, the ambassador invited them to attend the celebration in Beijing. This was the first time any of the children had left their home province.

The British Embassy announced that the UK Border Agency has launched an updated guide in Chinese as well as English for travelers to the UK. Your Stay in the UK contains information about the UK visa and what it permits visa holders to do while they are in the country. It also includes regulations about illegal working, banned foods and other restricted goods. The booklet, in either language, can be downloaded from the UK Border Agency website.

Austria's ambassador Martin Sajdik hosted a cocktail reception this week to introduce elite Austrian musicians in Beijing to kick off their concert tour, Aodili-The Sounds of Music. The musical programs highlight the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Austria and China - part of Austria's Year of China launched with a Chinese New Year concert in the capital in January. After the reception on Wednesday, guests moved to the National Center for the Performing Arts for the first concert of the tour, featuring Lidia Baich (violin) and Matthias Fletzberger (piano).

The Danish embassy reports that China's growing role in the world economy and politics is clear from the growing interest among Danish students to study the Chinese language. "There is a boom in Danish students wanting to learn Chinese. We see this development both in high schools and universities. At my university we can only accept less than half of the applicants, because the demand to study Chinese is so big," says Stig Thogersen, professor in Chinese studies at Aarhus University in Denmark.

The number of university students enrolling in Chinese language studies has increased by 400 percent in one year, according to a survey by the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. In 2010, 131 students enrolled in Chinese language studies at Danish universities. This year, 540 university students are studying Chinese in Denmark.

In late 2010, the Danish government proposed allowing elementary schools to teach and hold final exams in Chinese language, giving Chinese the same status as German and French. Six years ago, no Danish high schools offered Chinese classes, the embassy reports.

Embassy news can be sent to:

mike.peters.cd@gmail.com.