Ecuador begins a culture blitz before big day

Diplomatic Pouch | Mike Peters

All eyes are on Ecuador as that nation organizes a flurry of activities leading up to its national day on Aug 9. Ambassador Jose M. Borja kicked off Ecuador Week at Beijing's Latin American and Caribbean Culture Center on Friday, which features an ink-art exhibition by painter Hernan Illescas, a film showcase for several days and music by Jose Luis Moreno and Rafael Flores on Wednesday and Thursday night (complete schedule at laccenter.org). The embassy will host a photo exhibit on the Galapagos Islands on the morning of Aug 9 at the Jintai Museum.

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The new US consulate-general in the Zhujiang New Town neighborhood of Guangzhou was open for business starting on July 23. Situated in a garden setting on the Pearl River, the seven-building complex includes a consular building, an office building, a residence for US Marines, a warehouse with service shops, and three entry pavilions.

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Pisco sours were the beverage du jour as Peruvian ambassador Gonzalo Gutierrez Reinel hosted a reception on Thursday at the Westin Financial Street Beijing to celebrate the country's national day.

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US Ambassador Gary Locke recently made his first visit to the historic city of Nanjing. During a stop at Amity Bakery, Locke got an introduction and tour from Qiu Zhonghui, general secretary of the Amity Foundation, and then the ambassador joined some employees to make cookies. The staff surprised Locke with an apple pie prepared according to a Locke family recipe and also presented him with a memorial edition Bible.

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Brazil's new ambassador to China, Valdemar Carneiro Leao, gave an informal talk on bilateral relations at the Bookworm in Beijing last week.

The Brazilian envoy is one of 12 new ambassadors who presented their credentials to China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People earlier this month. The others are Abdoulaye Fall of Senegal, Borislav Maric of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tarek Amri of Tunisia, Andrey Denisov of the Russian Federation, Lebohang Ntsinyi of Lesotho, Julian Ventura Valero of Mexico, Kwon Young-se of the Republic of Korea, Vassilios Costis of Greece, Kanaiym Baktygulova of Kyrgyzstan, Victor Bockarie Foh of Sierra Leone and Ivan Zerpa Guerrero of Venezuela.

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Ding Ma, a Suzhou native who moved to Finland with his parents at age of 4, has joined the staff of the Finnish consulate in Shanghai as promotion officer. Ding went through the Finnish education system, became a Finnish citizen, performed military service as a reserve officer and graduated with a master's of science from Aalto University School of Business this spring. He previously worked as an interpreter and Finpro's market analyst.

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Malta's President George Abela visited the Mediterranean Regional Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine last week accompanied by Chinese Ambassador to Malta Cai Jinbiao. The president met with the 10th group of Chinese doctors who have finished their mission in Malta and return home soon. He commended their work during the past two years and welcomed a newly arrive group of Chinese doctors.

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In a speech last week, UK Immigration Minister Mark Harper applauded the continued growth in visitors from China, including 80,000 Chinese studying in the UK's higher education institutions in 2011/12 - the largest single group of international students in the country.

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South Africa's Ambassador to China Bheki Langa led a volunteer team from the embassy to the Chenguang Cerebral Palsy Children Rehabilitation Center, which provides cultural education and training for about 30 children between 3 and 14 years old with cerebral palsy. The diplomats went to Magezhuang village for a morning of painting, planting a garden, watching a kids' music performance and assisting at lunch. The ambassador also presented a donation as the group commemorated the 95th birthday of South Africa's ailing former president, Nelson Mandela.