'Stonewalling' shows independent Chinese filmmaking is still kicking – The China Project

Stonewalling, which just had its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival, is the third full-length feature directed by Huáng Jì 黄骥 and Ryuji Otsuka. The duo continues to reflect on young women’s sexuality and reproduction in contemporary China, which were also the focus of their two previous films, Egg & Stone (2012) and Foolish Bird (2017). …

In Stonewalling, they tackle surrogacy and egg donation, which in recent years experienced a boom on the Chinese black market and became one of the most heatedly debated issues. In Changsha, capital of Hunan province, 20-something Lynn is studying English and attending vocational training to become a stewardess while taking up odd modeling jobs. Her boyfriend works as an influencer and plans to immigrate to the UK, though Lynn lacks self-confidence and does not have such specific ambitions for the future. Meanwhile, back in Lynn’s hometown, her mother runs a small private gynecological clinic and goes into financial trouble following a medical malpractice that leads to a young patient’s miscarriage. To help pay off the compensation as fast as possible, Lynn considers making money selling her eggs on the black market, but after a physical check-up she discovers she’s pregnant. It’s here that she finds a way to kill two birds with one stone.

Why Oakland Parents Are Flocking to a Chinese-Immersion School | The New Yorker

The students at Yu Ming wear navy-blue and white uniforms, and learn in classrooms that are modest and cozy. Kindergarteners sit on a rug on the floor and listen to a teacher speak to them in Mandarin; across the hall, first graders jump up and down, singing a Chinese song set to the tune of “Ten Little Fingers.” I visited during just the seventh week of classes, meaning that roughly seventy per cent of the kindergarten class could not yet understand what was being taught, except through physical cues or the very occasional hint whispered in English. But, by the second grade, they will know how to write stories in Chinese characters. In third grade, they’ll start taking the standardized tests required of every student in California—and they’ll most likely excel.

Gray rhinos and risk awareness in China and the U.S. — Q&A with Michele Wucker – The China Project

A front-page People’s Daily editorial in July 2017 warned that “preventing and resolving financial risks” was a key goal of the government’s economic policy. The article mentioned two types of risks: “black swans” (黑天鹅 hēi tiān’é), which are risks that are completely unpredictable, and “gray rhinoceroses” (灰犀牛 huī xīniú), a term coined by writer, entrepreneur, and strategist Michele Wucker in a 2013 Davos speech and subsequent book.

Since then, the gray rhino concept has come into common use in China, particularly among government officials and in the business press. Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 himself, in his New Year’s video greeting of 2018, had a copy of The Gray Rhino on his bookshelf.

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This compilation is put together by DeLisle Worrell, President of the ABCF. Previous compilations may be found at the ABCF website, where you may also find issues of the association’s magazine Exchanges, and other items of interest.