Mark Wu : Design & Art Direction for Digital Media
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HRH The Duke of York and China Now

Wednesday, 28 March, 2007

I was invited to attend a working reception for China Now, which was held in the esteemed Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge, in the presence of HRH The Duke Of York, KG, KCVO. The event was chaired by David (Shanghai) Tang, with Simon Heale who is the Chief Executive of China Now, and William Ong, who founded The Pearl Awards.

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For those that don't know, China Now will apparently be the most important festival about contemporary China that has ever been staged in the UK. It will take place in the first half of 2008, in the run up to the Beijing Olympics and will encompass, by the sounds of it, anything and everything.

The point of the reception was to get attendees to contribute and participate in the festival.

If you can detect a little bit of cynicism, you're not wrong. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not turning my nose up at the whole idea. In fact, it sounds like a very high profile initiative that has potential to bring together alot of Chinese people in the UK, to collaborate and present to the UK public and beyond.

Choosing a high class venue and bringing together such visible hosts as David and William, in the company of royalty - Prince Andrew, really boosts the importance and significance of the event. "Awe-inspiring" for ordinary folk like me and all very positive stuff.

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However. Why isn't the person responsible for China Now, Chinese? Or at the very least, why isn't there a Chinese person in a senior post there? (There isn't as far as I know.) I would have thought that this makes sense, for them to liase with China and with the Chinese population in the UK, with understanding, trust, fluency etc.

Or am I missing something here?

At the reception, I perceived David and William almost as brokers between China Now and the (mainly) Chinese audience. It seemed very much like them and us - China Now and the UK Chinese.

Of course, without being aware of all that goes on behind closed doors, I'm sure there could be some valid reasons for why things happen. Maybe a non-Chinese person came up with the idea first? I just hope that its a good reason. For something as positive as this, it would be a shame for something like politics to taint the show.

Anyway, with all eyes on China, we shouldn't be surprised at initiatives like China Now and the attention the UK Chinese will get. The shrewdest among us will make use of any opportunities that arise.

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Above : HRH The Duke of York chats with Ching who makes rather nice, healthy food and drinks.

Photos by Kate Shortt


This entry posted in : Events. East Asian Culture.

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Quick intro :

British Chinese, Digital Design Consultant. Professional experience spans over 9 years working on digital design projects for both small and large clients. Read more...

Events attending :
  
28/04/08 :House of Commons :
Barry Gardiner MP Reception
13/04/08 :The BC Project :
Get Active UK - Register to Vote (Chinatown 12 - 4pm)
27/02/08 :The British Chinese Project :
Political Seminar
Hosted by Cllr Thomas Chan
21/02/08 :Five Circles Arts Festival :
Gala Reception
14/02/08 :Cirque Du Soleil - Varekai
10/02/08 :Chinese New Year celebrations in London Chinatown
16/01/08 :The British Chinese Project :
Working Group Meeting
  
Website updates :
  
27/01/08 :Games and Digiquaria wallpaper now added to the Downloads section
  
01/01/08 :Initial version of MarkWu.Info finally live. Lots of refining and adding to do though, so its live, but not really, if you know what I mean...
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Visit China Design Now at the V & A
Sign petition to stop BIA raids on Chinese catering businesses
Absorb The History of Visual Communication
Listen to the Five East Asian Music Acts to watch in 2008
Revisit my childhood
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