Diplomatic Pouch

Photo provided to China Daily

EU's envoy weds on Great Wall

EU Ambassador Markus Ederer and his bride Beate Grzeski celebrated their union in a traditional Chinese wedding ceremony on the Great Wall last Saturday evening at Mutianyu in Beijing's outskirts. Grzeski is the economic counselor at the German embassy, and the couple hosted about 100 friends and family members from Germany, many dressed in traditional Bavarian dress and lederhosen. Festivities from Chinese tradition included a bow and arrow to bring luck to the couple, who gave their guests from home a real taste of Chinese culture with performers such as musicians, dancers and bianlian (face changing).

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The Royal Danish Embassy raised 70,000 yuan at a charity buffet dinner last week to raise funds for cataract surgery in China. The guest of honor was Le Aimei, wife of the Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi. The proceeds will support the NGO Lifeline Express, which carries out thousands of cataract surgeries for Chinese people in the rural areas all over the country. In China children as young as 4 years old have cataract, and are thus not able to see clearly and live with the risk of eventually turning blind.

Birgitte Wilhelmsen, spouse of Danish Ambassador Friis Arne Petersen, found Lifeline Express in an article in China Daily and felt obliged to act. Lifeline Express was represented by the organization's vice-chairman, Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, standing committee member of the National People's Congress and former chairman of HKSAR Legislative Council.

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Hundreds of people came to Los Angeles Union Station recently for the unveiling of the sculpture "Pioneer of Railroad Construction", the focal point of National Train Day event and Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May. Created by Xikun Yuan, an award-winning Chinese artist and the United Nations Environment Program's first Patron for the Arts and Environment, Yuan's sculpture honors the Chinese labors who built the transcontinental railroad in the United States, reminding people of their contribution in the American history.

China's Consul General Qiu Shaofang and Amtrak vice president Emmett Fremaux attended the unveiling ceremony with the artist.

Yuan said. "I was deeply touched and moved by the stories of Chinese laborers, and that gave me the inspiration of the sculpture. These Chinese labors were far away from their home country and their families. The transcontinental railroad was truly a miracle; it is built upon their blood and bones. So I named the statue 'Pioneer of Railroad Construction' to show them my respect."

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Czech Ambassador Libor Secka took giant scissors in hand to assist at the ceremonial ribbon-cutting for the new Czech China Contemporary, a culture and arts center featuring several galleries including permanent display space for the center's resident artists, A Qin Strakova and Jiri Straka. The nonprofit institute "seeks to promote deep integration between the Czech and Chinese culture and art.

Designed by architect Zdenek Franek and located in the developing arts district of Songzhuang southeast of Beijing, the center's partners include the Czech embassy and ministry of culture, two galleries in the Czech Republic and SRO Global Law Firm. Secka and his wife, Sabrina, hosted a special gallery show for the artists, who are married, at the embassy last month in anticipation of the gallery opening.

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As the summer tourist season approaches, the EU delegation in China, together with the International Organization of Migration and the countries of the common border area, known as Schengen area, took the opportunity to deliver a training session on Schengen visa procedures explicitly for Chinese travel agencies specializing in European tours The Schengen area has experienced an impressive increase in Chinese tourists over recent years because it provides the opportunity to visit up to 26 European countries with a single visa. To streamline the visa application process and to provide the best possible service to each applicant, this training brought together Chinese travel agencies, European tourism boards, the China National Tourism Administration and visa sections to advise the relevant travel agencies on the current rules and most efficient procedures.