82% of Canadian firms planning Asian expansion

Eric Beauchesne
CanWest News Service
Wednesday, February 15, 2006

OTTAWA -- More Canadian companies than ever are planning new or expanded investment in the Asia Pacific region, survey results released yesterday suggest.

However, despite the strong Canadian dollar, there is relatively little new investment planned by Canadian companies to outsource production and jobs to Asia to supply the Canadian market, the survey by the Asia Pacific Foundation indicates.

"That is a surprise," said Ron Richardson, an official with the Vancouver-based think-tank.

However, the reason is that unlike in the United States, where there has been a surge in outsourcing to supply the domestic market, most Canadian manufacturing firms are relatively small, making the cost of outsourcing prohibitive, Mr. Richardson explained.

Still, the survey found two-thirds of Canadian firms expect to increase their investment in Asia over the next 12 months, and 82% expect to do so over the coming half decade, including more than half who say they intend to substantially increase that investment.

The proportion planning to boost their stake in Asia is "far higher" than in previous surveys, said the report by the foundation, which is funded by the federal and British Columbia governments, and which promotes economic and other relations between Canada and countries in the Asia Pacific region.

Overall, the 110 companies that responded to the survey were more bullish on Asian investment than at any time in the seven years the survey has been conducted, with 30% expecting to boost their Asian holdings substantially in the coming year, up from 23% a year earlier.

Further, none expected to reduce their Asian exposure, it noted, adding it sees the results as being especially reliable as all the companies already have factories or sales offices in the region and are well-informed on economic prospects there.

According to Statistics Canada, Canadian firms had $32.3-billion invested in operations in the region at the start of last year, double what they had a decade ago.

The emergence of China has had a "substantial" impact on the planning or activities of 37% of the companies and a "moderate" impact on another 39%, the survey found.

Canadian firms are stepping up their Asian operations in line with efforts by the federal government to develop a national Pacific Gateway Strategy, said Yuen Pau Woo, president of the think-tank.

"The very strong private sector response to opportunities in Asia underscores the importance of federal and provincial government efforts to improve ... our economic links with the region," Mr. Woo said.

The new Conservative government of Stephen Harper has pledged nearly $600-million to support the strategy launched by the former Liberal government to eliminate road, rail and border bottlenecks to Asia-Pacific trade.

The survey suggests the top destination for new Canadian investment in Asia remains China, the likely target of one-quarter of potential investment.

If projects planned for Hong Kong and Taiwan are added, 35% of all the planned Asian investment will go into the greater China region.

The next largest target is Southeast Asia, although investment there should be less than half that of greater China.

The survey was sent out over the past two months to companies that already have a physical presence in Asia Pacific.

© National Post 2006

UBC Asian Studies Lectures on Film

TWO FREE PUBLIC EVENING LECTURES ON FILM by RUI WANG AND TONY LIMAN

SEXUALITY AND CENSORSHIP IN CHINESE CINEMA
Thursday, March 16, 7:00 pm
by Prof. Rui Wang, Distinguished Visiting Professor, UBC Asian Studies

GEISHA REMEMBERS: THOUGHTS ON MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
Thursday, March 23, 7:00 pm
by Prof. Tony Liman, Distinguished Visiting Professor, UBC Asian Studies

More info: www.asia.ubc.ca/

Richard Gere says he's concerned about spread of AIDS in India

NEW YORK (AP) - Richard Gere said he fears Asia will be "lost" if the AIDS epidemic hits India hard. The actor and AIDS activist is travelling to the subcontinent this week along with President George W. Bush. Gere may not agree with Bush on everything, but he "certainly can praise him" for bringing attention to AIDS in India, the actor said on the ABC News television talk show This Week on Sunday.

"The president of the United States coming there in a world where he's seemingly obsessed with terrorism, clearly obsessed with it, and talking about HIV/AIDS in the same breath, in the same paragraph, extremely important," Gere said.

Bush has said he hopes to address the AIDS crisis with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"India is a country that I care about deeply," Gere said. "We're talking about a population in India that is close to a billion people. If this crisis hits them to the degree it's expected to, we've lost Asia."

© The Canadian Press, 2006

South Korea's KT&G rejects unsolicited takeover bid by U.S. investors

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea's KT&G Corp. on Monday rejected an unsolicited takeover bid by a group of investors led by U.S. billionaire Carl Icahn. "The board of directors determined that it does not help maximize interests of the company and shareholders to accept the proposal," the tobacco giant said in a statement.

In a letter to chief executive Kwak Young-kyoon last week, Icahn and other investors offered to buy KT&G at $62 US a share. The company makes tobacco products and items related to the ginseng root, popular in Asia for its perceived health benefits.

But Kwak said Monday the board had unanimously rejected the proposal "because it is presumptive and lacks certainty," according to the company statement.

If the takeover attempt is successful, it would be the first unsolicited buyout of a major South Korean company by overseas investors.

Three funds controlled by Icahn - including Icahn Partners Master Fund LP and another fund, Steel Partners II LP - have become the second-largest holders of KT&G, amassing about 6.7 per cent of the company's total shares, some 10.7 million, since last year.

The investors have been calling for KT&G to float shares in its ginseng subsidiary and to sell landholdings to improve the company's share price.

A showdown on the bid is expected at the company's annual shareholders' meeting set for March 17. The investors have nominated three people to compete for two openings for outside directors on the company's board.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

20 accused of plotting coup in Philippines

(CBC) - Four senior police officers have been detained and 16 leading opposition figures have been charged with rebellion in a widening crackdown against those accused of trying to to topple Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The police officers include Chief Superintendent Marcelino Franco, who was fired on Friday from his post as commander of the police special action force, after Arroyo declared a state of emergency.

The officers are accused of recruiting people to destabilize Arroyo's government.

Police have also filed charges against four leftist legislators and 12 other opposition figures who have called on Arroyo to step down.

The head of police criminal investigations, Chief Supt. Jesus Versoza, says his office has submitted the names of the 16 to the Philippines Justice Department.

The charges, which carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, came a day after about 100 members of the marines, led by decorated combat veteran Col. Ariel Querubin, holed up at their headquarters in a defiant stand against Arroyo. They were protesting the dismissal of their commandant, Maj.-Gen. Renato Miranda.

The standoff ended peacefully late Sunday when the marines returned to barracks. But the government said the incident forced the extension of the state of emergency, which Arroyo declared to quell what her advisers said was a coup plot hatched by leftist groups and military "adventurists."

Arroyo's popularity has plummeted since surviving an impeachment vote in congress last year over charges she cheated in 2004 elections.

In 2003, she quashed a short-lived military rebellion by junior officers.

© the CBC, 2006

Former Miss Universe Faces APA Conundrum

By Paul E. Pratt, Feb 24, 2006
http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=0938782daf57f6f80065ea8135f96b61&this_category_id=171

Brook Lee was named Miss Universe 1997, in a historic victory for Asian Americans. The first Miss Hawaii-USA to win, Lee admits her crowning “plunged [her] into the Asian American experience.”

“Prior to [Miss USA], I had no point of reference about what being ‘Asian American’ is,” she confesses. Touring as Miss USA taught Lee what she calls “the Asian American conundrum” and how geography shapes Asian Americans’ self-image.

“In Hawaii, the head cheerleader, prom queen and captain of the football team are Japanese,” Lee relates. “We didn’t grow up with any sort of dichotomy about being American and being of Asian descent.”

“You don’t carry the same baggage about being Asian American because you’re never singled out,” she continues. “You have a different set of self-esteem than kids who grew up on the mainland because you’re the majority...

...“In Hollywood, they don’t see me as ‘Asian,’” confesses Lee, who is one-third Korean as well as Dutch, Portuguese and Hawaiian. By industry standards, Lee “looks Hispanic.” Some professional representatives over the years even suggested Lee capitalize on this, a move she declined....

China bans cartoons that blend animation with live actors to protect industry

BEIJING (AP) - China has announced a ban on cartoons that blend animated elements with live-action actors, a move aimed at nurturing local animators and apparently curbing the use of foreign cartoons. Popular children's television shows featuring human hosts and animated elements such as Blue's Clues from the United States and Britain's Teletubbies could be included in the ban. The government's main television and film regulator warned in a Feb. 15 notice to broadcasters and theatres that cartoons including live characters could no longer be shown. It said violators would be punished but did not say what the penalties would be.

It did not give examples of banned programs but described them as "so-called cartoons that mainly feature real people and only occasionally have computer-generated elements."

Communist authorities are eager to expand the country's animation industry and also are worried about the influence of foreign pop culture on Chinese children.

The cartoon ban is intended to "promote the development and prosperity of the cartoon industry in China," said the statement issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

The ban could also target feature films such as the 1988 feature film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, in which actor Bob Hoskins performed beside several animated characters.

The broadcast administration's statement said it planned to review programs that had previously been granted licences to make sure none of the banned programming is aired.

Phone calls to the administration's main office on Thursday weren't answered.

Japanese and western animated programs gained an early foothold in China but the government wants to develop its own industry.

China already limits foreign cartoons on television to 40 per cent of all cartoons broadcast. It has said it might ban all foreign cartoons from prime time television once the quantity and quality of domestic productions is considered adequate.

Yet foreign cartoons dubbed into Chinese are a staple on late afternoon and weekend television.

Chinese studios have taken advantage of low labour costs to build a growing business handling the labour-intensive animation of cartoons for foreign studios.

Yet they've had little luck building up their own brands.

There are few Chinese-made cartoons aside from a handful of traditional tales such as Journey to the West and some government-financed titles.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

No more Sex following this

Episodic rom-com will do it one last time

Stuart Derdeyn
The Province
Thursday, February 23, 2006

ON STAGE
Sex in Vancouver: Doin' It Again
Where: Waterfront Theatre, Granville Island
When: Tonight-Sunday; Tuesday-March 5, at 8 p.m. Matinee on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $12-$28 at www.vact.ca or 778-885-1973
- - -
We've already said goodbye to Sex in The City's Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones, Charlotte York and Miranda Hobbes. Now it's time to bid adieu to the complicated emotional lives of Elizabeth, Tess, Shari and Jenna. The four heroines of Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre's episodic romantic comedy Sex in Vancouver are back for one last kiss goodbye in Doin' It Again.

There won't be any re-runs.

Adapted from SIS Productions' Sex In Seattle series created by Kathy Hsieh, Serin Ngai and Colleen Parker, the play first graced stages with 2003's Sex in Vancouver: Deceptions & Reflections.

At the time -- like the situation in Seattle that spurred the writers to develop the storyline -- a tale of four Asian-Canadian women going through normal love, loss and relationships was unlike anything on this city's theatre scene. The Seattle production is in its 13th episode and is still going strong. VACT has mounted four episodes to a steadily increasing audience, all with volunteer talent and crew.

"This production has really taken the theatre community by storm," says Aaron Lau. "People are stoked to see who's going to be in it and where the story is going to go."

Lau plays Dick, the lover of Zane, who is in a marriage of convenience with Tess (Andrea Yu), who is mad at Jenna (Candice Macalino) for thwarting her attempts to get something going with Adam (Cyril Redillas).

Confused? A character family tree and plot breakdown is all found at www.vact.ca. The cast says that first-timers will be brought up to speed at the start of each night. The fun ensues.

"Since we opened, some of the cast have become hearthrobs with a steady following," says Grace Kim (Elizabeth). "It has created a chance for audiences to see Asian men and women on stage in roles other than as fighters, in labcoats or as shop owners."

One look at the promo shot for the show makes it easy to see why the cast are celebrities; model good looks abound. But the truth is that they all struggle to get roles outside of ethnic stereotypes. Since its establishment as a non-profit organization in May '01, the company's mandate has been to provide opportunities for Asian-Canadian actors to have artistically meaty and significant roles. To accomplish this, the company creates a lot of its own works.

"It's unfortunate that the concept of an Asian being a complete person is a still-radical notion," says Ed Fong, who plays Andrew. "This is a reflection of an intellectual starting point that says race has to be brought up as a de facto component of human nature.

"The truth is, if I could get a role that had nothing to do with it, just a simple delivery person with no strings attached, I'd celebrate."

In a city as intergrated as Vancouver, where couples and children of mixed racial origins are commonplace, it's particularly distressing to hear this.

"Bi-racial relationships are a common thing here and the show addresses that," says Devan Vancise (Nathan). "Rather than make it a big deal, it's treated like we're all just people."

That's refreshing, and something most of us would like to see reflected more on our local stages.

As VACT's executive producer and resident writer Joyce Lam so eloquently points out, the trend toward "stressing the hyphenation" in new works often leads to stereotyping too. VACT opts instead to go with presenting stories about "the hyphenated Asian on stage in a contemporary setting." How now.

sderdeyn@png.canwest.com

Catch Stu's New Music Tuesdays on BCTV's Morning News on Global at 8:45 a.m., Tuesdays -- and Stu's Weekend Fun File on BCTV's Weekend Morning and Noon News.

© The Vancouver Province 2006

Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee moseys toward historic Oscar triumph

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ang Lee seems poised to go where even Japanese film master Akira Kurosawa never went: The winner's circle for best director at the Academy Awards.
A win March 5 for front-runner Lee, director of the cowboy romance Brokeback Mountain, would make him the first Asian filmmaker to earn the directing prize.

Lee has dominated at earlier awards shows, taking the directing prize at the Golden Globes and the Directors Guild of America, the recipient of the latter almost always going on to win the Oscar.

His competition on Oscar night: Two-time best-director winner Steven Spielberg for the assassination thriller Munich; George Clooney for the Edward R. Murrow tale Good Night, and Good Luck; Paul Haggis for the ensemble drama Crash; and Bennett Miller for the Truman Capote saga Capote.

Though nominated for best director previously with his martial-arts epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Lee arrives as the Oscar favourite with a distinctly un-Asian film.

Brokeback Mountain is a modern twist on the Western, casting Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as sheepherding pals whose summer fling turns into a passionate romance they conceal from their wives.

"I like the unknown place," Lee said backstage after his win at the Golden Globes. "I think the American West, true west, not west in movies, it's very romantic. It's lighthearted. It's a place that I hardly know, and I like to explore that."

Born in Taiwan, Lee first came to Hollywood's notice with the romantic charmers The Wedding Banquet and Eat Drink Man Woman, which earned back-to-back Oscar nominations for foreign-language film for 1993 and '94.

Since then, Lee has been a chameleon, directing the Jane Austen costume romance Sense and Sensibility, a best-picture nominee, the stark American drama The Ice Storm and the comic-book adaptation Hulk.

Crouching Tiger won the foreign-language honour for 2000 and earned a best-picture nomination.

Brokeback Mountain is a sweeping romantic melodrama with one foot rooted in the grand weepers of old Hollywood and the other kicking show business into modern times with its sensitive portrayal of a gay love affair.

Its subject matter aside, Brokeback Mountain stands as an estimable directing achievement for presenting an intimate character portrait against a backdrop of boundless Western vistas.

At 51, Lee already has eclipsed the Oscar track record of Kurosawa, whose film Rashomon received an honorary foreign-language film award and whose Dersu Uzala won the foreign-language Oscar. Kurosawa's films never broke into the best-picture category, though he was nominated for best director with Ran and received an honorary Oscar for 1989.

A look at the other directing nominees:

-Steven Spielberg, Munich: The film was a daring choice for Spielberg, who incurred the wrath of Jewish groups that felt he humanized Arab terrorists in his dramatization of the Israeli pursuit of Palestinians linked to the massacre of Israelis at the 1972 Olympics.

Starring Eric Bana as leader of an Israeli hit squad, Munich is a dazzling directing achievement that creates an authentic period feeling through design and camera techniques that emulate the look of 1970s political thrillers.

But with two directing Oscars already for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, it's unlikely Spielberg will win a third for a film that left audiences lukewarm.

-George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck: In 2005, Clooney graduated from superstar hunk who really wants to direct to serious filmmaker and actor.

Along with his directing honour, Clooney was nominated for co-writing the Good Night screenplay, and he earned a supporting-actor nomination for the oil-industry thriller Syriana.

If he's going home with an Oscar, it probably will be for his excellent performance in Syriana. That prize also would serve as a nice honourable mention for Clooney's directing accomplishment on a little black-white film about newsman Murrow (David Strathairn) that confounded expectations by becoming a commercial success as well as a critical hit.

-Paul Haggis, Crash: Haggis was the one key member of the Million Dollar Baby quartet who did not win an Oscar last time. Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman all won, but screenwriter Haggis came away empty-handed.

Oscar voters might remedy that this time by giving him the prize for the original screenplay of Crash, which he co-wrote. The film features a huge cast led by Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Terrence Howard and Thandie Newton in a crisis-mode 36-hour period in Los Angeles.

Haggis himself has said he expects Lee and Brokeback Mountain to triumph, but the seamless stitching he managed with so many characters and story lines in Crash makes him a serious longshot contender.

-Bennett Miller, Capote: Miller looks to be along for the ride with his searing portrait of author Capote, which is expected to make its Oscar splash in the best-actor category, where Philip Seymour Hoffman is favoured to win for the title role.

For Miller, making his dramatic film debut after directing a single documentary previously, Capote and the Oscar attention are signs of good things to come from a fresh talent.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Naomi's Road - Opera for young people by Vancouver Opera

Saturday, March 11, 2006, 7:30pm
Vancouver Japanese Language School Hall (487 Alexander Street)
Tickets: $10 (general) / $8 (students, seniors) / $5 (children 12 and under)
For information: tel (604) 683 8240 or email miko@dkam.ca

Composed by Ramona Luengen with libretto by Ann Hodges, this opera for young people is based on Joy Kogawa's novel Naomi's Road. Set during World War II, Naomi's Road tells the touching and dramatic story of nine-year-old Naomi's journey, with her Japanese Canadian family, from Vancouver to an internment camp in the interior of BC. In a sensitive, visually evocative production filled with emotion, humour and soaring melodies, Naomi and her older brother Stephen struggle with the harshness of war, racism, bullying and loss of family. Ultimately brother and sister triumph over their fears and discover the gifts that sustain them: music, words and love. Their resilience of spirit offers hope for the future and will lead audiences to discover the power of understanding and the beauty of compassion.

The Powell Street Festival Society and VJLS-JH partner in a rare public Vancouver presentation of this 45-minute opera for folks of all ages!

Joy Kogawa will be in attendance for a Question and Response period following the presentation.

WFP approves new aid for North Korea

(CBC) - The United Nations World Food Program has approved a new proposal to help North Korea, just months after its operations were scaled back at the request of that country's government.

The new aid will target pregnant women and children.

WFP 's operations in North Korea ended last year after the government there said it no longer needed direct food aid. Instead, it said it wanted donors to focus on development.

In response to a request from North Korea, the WFP has approved a two-year program that would provide vitamin-enriched food to pregnant women and children.

However, the agency's board said it can only implement the plan if North Korea relaxes new restrictions on staff numbers and their movement in the country.

WFP will now hold talks with North Korea in a bid to reach agreement on the plan. It will also require the support of donor countries for it to be implemented.

In a statement on its website, the WFP said the two-year program is "just the first step in the process of resuming food aid to DPRK Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

Try Naming a Famous Asian Hunk

February 24, 2006
http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/43fea69e0dd28
By Daniel Nieh

McCarthy. Kidd. Rosenzweig. Berman. Williams. Oh yeah, and, Nieh.
These are just a sample of the last names of half-Asian students at Penn.

See a trend?

According to Wayne State University Asian-American Studies expert Frank Wu, 72 percent of Asian-white couples in the United States consist of an Asian wife and a white husband. Apparently, not so many white women have Asian fetishes.

"Growing up, I thought I'd date white girls ... but I began to realize that I wasn't attractive to the white community," College senior Wes Nakamura, a panelist at a forum on interracial dating held last Thursday. "I discovered that wanting that is setting yourself up for a lot of pain."

Nakamura touched on a serious issue in American sexual culture: the marginalization of Asian men. You know the stereotypes. They're small, bookish and geeky. They're good at math, ping pong and PlayStation.

And they're not very sexy.

These preconceptions about East Asian men have not been around forever. White Americans perceived late 19th- and early 20th-century Chinese and Japanese railroad workers as virile, intimidating and sexually potent. In other words, Asian men were stereotyped in much the way black men are today.

But in contemporary America, East Asian men produce cars, televisions and semiconductors -- not railroads -- and the rest of America sees Asians as intelligent and industrious (read: nerdy).

Unfortunately, the "model minority" label does not come with vaunted sexual categorization.

But we must not ignore the role the media play in eroticizing East Asian women while desexualizing East Asian men. For example, nothing says "cultural imperialism" like silver screen interracial relationships -- just think Sideways or The Last Samurai. Now think of the last time you saw an Asian man kiss a white woman on screen.

Really? Me neither.

Jackie Chan, Jet Li -- and even Bruce Lee, who married a white woman -- have never had an on-screen kiss with anyone.

Where are the male counterparts for Lucy Liu, Kelly Hu and Sandra Oh?

"Very rarely are Asian men portrayed as sexual beings with normal sexual desires and behaviors," Penn Graduate School of Education professor Vinay Harpalani said.

The marketers who set the agenda in mass media have determined that, while Asian women are exotic and sexy, Asian men are nerdy, funny or, at best, ninjas. These same people put Beyonce Knowles -- light skin, red lipstick, Farrah Fawcett hair -- on one magazine cover and 50 Cent -- tattooed muscles, no shirt, optional firearm -- on another.

This selling of stereotypes creates the white-male oriented standards of beauty that define contemporary American sexual identities: black female (conformist), black male (predatory), East Asian female (submissive) and East Asian male (none). And, of course, the tall, thin white females; minorities aren't the only groups that suffer under these standards.

I won't suggest that an Illuminati group of influential white men gets together and decides how to portray beauty in the media. These sexual stereotypes sell, and businesses using them are just maximizing profits.

And they will continue to do so as long as we continue to buy.

Unfortunately, the marketing of these sexual identities is resulting in ugly consequences. According to Wu, Asian women are marrying at twice the rate of Asian men. Even sadder than the white men and women who buy into these stereotypes are the Asian women who begin to see themselves as submissive and the Asian men who begin to see themselves as unwanted.

"Knowing that Asian men aren't seen as attractive by society at large," Nakamura said, "I often don't consider dating white women as an option."

So what's to be done? The first step lies in recognizing that we see each other through the tinted glasses of our preconceptions. "I don't buy the whole argument that you just love who you love -- our sexual and romantic decisions are influenced by a larger context," said Ed Brockenbrough, who co-instructs a Graduate School of Education seminar on Cross Cultural Awareness.

Even with our Ivy League enlightenment, we at Penn have yet to transcend stereotyped sexual identities.

And until we recognize the pervasiveness and gravity of sexual stereotypes, we won't be seeing too many half-white Tanakas around campus.

SHAW ROCKET FUND

FUNDING APPLICATION DEADLINES
MARCH 6, 2006 AND MAY 23, 2006

WHAT:
The Shaw Rocket Fund application deadline.
Funding guidelines are available at www.rocketfund.ca

WHO:
The Shaw Rocket Fund provides financing for the production of high quality Canadian children's, youth and family programming. Canadian independent producers of film and television projects in this genre are welcome to apply. See funding guidelines on the Rocket Fund website for eligibility.

WHEN:
Applications will be accepted from 4 weeks prior to the application deadline. Decisions on all eligible applications will be made approximately 8 weeks after the deadline date.

HOW:
Read and follow the funding guidelines at www.rocketfund.ca. In order to be considered an eligible application the most current Application found on the website must be completed. All documents listed on the Applicant Checklist must be included.

WHERE:
Submit a completed application form and required documentation to:
Shaw Rocket Fund
Att: Leighsa Burmaster
Suite 900, 630 3rd Ave SW
Calgary, AB T2P 4L4
PH: (403) 750-4517
FX: (403) 750-4635
Email: info@rocketfund.ca

BANFF and CTV Present CTV Canadian Documart

A GREAT PITCH MEANS BIG DOCUMENTARY PAYDAY AT THE 27TH BANFF WORLD TELEVISION FESTIVAL

Ushering a global call for the best documentary pitch, The Banff World Television Festival and CTV have once again joined forces to host the CTV Canadian Documart-an annual competition offering a lucrative pitching prize. CTV has once again donated $100,000 in support of the contest, giving documentary filmmakers healthy incentive to participate.

Six finalists selected from eligible entries received by the deadline of Friday, April 7 will have 10 minutes each to pitch their projects to a jury of industry experts. Development funding will then be awarded to the top three pitches: $50,000 for first place, $30,000 for second place and $20,000 for third. Pitching and judging will take place at BANFF 2006.

Winning the development prizes at Documart also opened doors to serious interest by broadcasters. Among the success stories are the 2003 winner Chairman George and the Quest for the Torch (Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin), broadcast on CTV and BBC, and the 2004 winner; Hockey Brawl: Battle on Thin Ice (Jeff Newman), soon to be broadcast on CTV.

"As an emerging independent producer, the CTV Documart was a tremendous opportunity," said Jeff Newman, Banff 2004, CTV Canadian Documart Top Winner. "When you're starting out, selling your ideas can be the toughest hurdle to overcome. Having the opportunity to present my idea to such a large and influential group of broadcasters and commissioning editors was a privilege. Winning the event eventually lead to a broadcast license, and was huge overall boost to my career. The direct result was a completed film that I'm very proud of."

"It's rewarding to see a project go from the pitching stage in Banff, to a network broadcast," says Bob Culbert, CTV's Vice President of Documentaries. "CTV is honoured to be associated with such a prestigious and successful contest."

This year's Banff World Television Festival will take place June 11 - 14, 2006, at the Fairmont Banff Springs amid the breathtaking Canadian Rockies. BANFF is the world's largest event dedicated to the creation of television content across all programming genres. To apply to pitch at CTV Canadian Documart and to register, visit www.banff2006.com.

China shuts down mini-Great Wall set up Valentine's Day for lovers' graffiti

BEIJING (AP) - Chinese authorities have shut down a miniature version of the Great Wall set up to let the public post romantic graffiti instead of defacing the real thing, an official said Friday. The project was closed "to protect (China's) cultural heritage," an official of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage said. He would give only his surname, Yao.

The seven-metre-high, 88-metre-long Great Wall of Love was set up near the Great Wall north of Beijing and opened on Feb. 14, Valentine's Day.

Run by a local tourist office, it was intended to let couples scratch messages of love on its marble blocks instead of on the real wall, some parts of which are already heavily defaced by graffiti.

Each message cost 999 yuan (US$124). The newspaper China Daily reported this week that it had attracted just four customers.

Yao said there were no plans to dismantle the mini-wall, but he didn't know what might happen to it.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

CRAM

Inaugural group show
cramart.ca website launch party
Saturday - March 4, 2006 - 8:00 PM*

24 James Street, 2nd Floor
St. Catharines, ON
Niagara , CANADA
enter between Christopher's Smoke Shop & The Office

CRAM is St. Catharines' Newest & Hottest Collective of Artists, and it is definitely Niagara's Smallest Gallery. While not as diminutive as the The Khyber's Closet Gallery, or the Artspace Blue Beaver International Cloakroom and Art Gallery of the 1970s, the intimate CRAM 8 ft x 10 ft hybrid venue should please everyone who likes to buy contemporary art and rub shoulders at art openings. Every event is guaranteed to be packed...

CRAM artists live in St. Catharines or have strong ties to the Niagara Region, and they work in a variety of mediums including painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, installation, video, sound and "new media". The CRAM Inaugural features a selection of work by the collective's emerging and internationally established artists: Tobey C. Anderson, Ed Aoki, John B. Boyle, the Judy Bowyer, Alice Crawley, Sandy Fairbairn, Alan Flint, Dave Gordon, Ernest Harris, Jr., Marinko Jareb, Melanie MacDonald, John Moffat, Richard Purcell, Stephen Remus, Kevin Richardson, and Carolyn Wren.

CRAM hours: when the sandwich board is out or by appointment.
Contact: info@tobeycanderson.com or call 905.380.3910
After March 4th: http://www.cramart.ca
* CRAM Memberships available or $2 at the door

PM wants immigrants' credentials to be recognized: McGuinty

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. (CP) - The federal Conservative government wants to work with the provinces to help immigrants have their foreign credentials recognized in Canada, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Saturday. Prime Minister Stephen Harper brought up the issue at the dinner meeting he had with the premiers at 24 Sussex Drive on Friday night, McGuinty said after a luncheon speech to a Liberal policy convention, dedicated to the issue of immigration.

"That's one of things Harper raised last night as an issue that he would like us to collaborate with him on, which is the recognition of credentials from the foreign community," McGuinty said.

"We're more than pleased to do that."

Ensuring new Canadians can use their training overseas to help them gain employment in their field of expertise is key for Ontario if it wants to attract the brightest and most educated immigrants, McGuinty told about 400 party members at the luncheon.

"We're going to be competing for immigrants," McGuinty said.

A big question for any person choosing to leave their home country for another is: "how long does it take me when I'm over there to get up and running," he said.

"How long does it take me to have my credentials recognized and for me to be employed at my highest level of ability and training?

"We're going to have to be able to answer that effectively and competitively" to attract top notch immigrants to Ontario and Canada, McGuinty said.

McGuinty stressed to the audience that he received written assurances from the Harper government that the landmark immigration and labour market deals it reached with the former Liberal government won't be tossed out.

The five-year, $920-million immigration deal means Ottawa will dole out more cash to help immigrants settle in the province, including language training and other services. The $300- million, six-year labour market agreement will help new Canadians in the province find the right kind of work for their skills and education.

"We have those commitments now, it's just a matter of ensuring that he delivers on those," McGuinty said, referring to Harper.

"We have no reason to expect that he won't do anything other than deliver on those."

Although these two deals appear secure, the day care agreement Ontario signed with the former Martin government isn't. On Friday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty confirmed that those arrangements are being scrapped by next March.

That will mean the loss of about 25,000 day care spaces that had been promised, said McGuinty, pledging to continue to push Harper to find a way to keep the province's day care agreement intact.

"My sense is there's still an opportunity for us to have an ongoing discussion with the prime minister, to explore any way that we might enable him to honour his commitment while we honour the previous government's commitment at the same time," McGuinty said.

Harper instead wants to move ahead on his plan to give families $1,200 a year for each child under the age of six to cover day care costs. But there's been talk of transitional funding as a potential option.

With the two deals with Ottawa as backing, Ontario wants to ensure immigrants to the province have the services they need and the chance to make a good living in the province while using their skills gained in foreign countries, said Immigration Minister Mike Colle.

A proposal coming out of the conference from big companies such as Ernst & Young is to boost the number of mentorships and internships for immigrants so they can quickly get work experience in Ontario and more quickly get hired into their field of training, he said.

"We really need to get into this in more and more ways (and) be bold on the mentorship front," said Colle, adding that companies benefit from having workers with international experience and a variety of language skills.

"We need everyone to open their doors and give newcomers a chance."

The Ontario government has done little in its past two years of office to help the province's immigrants, argued Conservative Tim Hudak.

"As long as we're seeing doctors, engineers with training driving taxicabs, it shows that Dalton McGuinty is not addressing the real issues for new immigrants."

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Joy Kogawa's Emily Kato Book Launch

Vancouver Public Library
Central Branch, Alice McKay Room
February 27th, 7:30pm

"A Celebration of Emily Kato"

featuring author Joy Kogawa with special surprise literary and musical guests + silent auction to help raise funds for the preservation of Kogawa House.

The sequel to Obasan was Itsuka - it has now been reworked and re-released as Emily Kato. This special celebratory evening will help make "Emily Kato" come alive for the audience.

On the 60th anniversary of the bombing that claimed Naomi's young mother in Obasan, Joy Kogawa revisits her second novel ”Itsuka”now retitled Emily Kato. In Obasan, Naomi's childhood was torn apart by Canada's betrayal of Japanese Canadian citizens during the 1940s. Years later, living quietly as a schoolteacher in the prairies, Naomi suffers the passing of the dear aunt and uncle who raised her, and her wounds are reopened. But Naomi's other aunt ”the feisty Emily Kato”convinces her to move to Toronto and encourages her to become involved in the Japanese Canadian fight for redress. Politically charged and intimately poetic, Emily Kato tells the story of one community's struggle for justice, extraordinary commitment, and profound hope.

for more information
contact Save Kogawa House Committee
Todd Wong - 604-240-7090
The Land Conservancy
Heather Skydt ph: 604-733-2313

China says number of mobile phone users has passed 400 million

BEIJING (AP) - China's mobile phone market, already the world's largest, has passed 400 million users, the government said Thursday. The number of subscribers on the country's mainland rose 5.4 million in January to 398 million, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Ministry of Information Industry.

It said that with further growth this month, the total number has hit 400 million, though it didn't give an exact figure.

China set up its first mobile phone network in 1987 and took a decade to reach 10 million customers. In 2003, the number of mobile phones in China surpassed that of fixed-line phones.

Xinhua also said mobile phone customers sent nearly 34 billion text messages in January, up 66 per cent from the same month last year.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Philippine president declares state of emergency amid coup rumours

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency Friday as she struggled with a reported coup plot and a possible repeat of the popular revolts that ousted two of her predecessors. Clashes erupted as police used water cannons to disperse about 5,000 protesters defying a ban on rallying at a shrine to the 1986 "people power" uprising that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The military barricaded its camps to keep troops from joining the demonstrations and detained an army general allegedly involved in the takeover plot.

Commemorations of the 20th anniversary of people power were cancelled, presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye told a news conference, adding that the military has been ordered "to prevent and suppress lawless violence."

Arroyo, who survived two earlier coup attempts, said the political opposition, along with both the extreme left and the extreme right, were determined to bring down the elected government.

"I am declaring a state of emergency because of the clear threat to the nation," a defiant Arroyo said in a taped, nationally televised statement.

"This is my warning against those who threaten the government: the whole weight of the law will fall on your treason. You are unhinging the economy from its strengthening pillars."

She claimed the military had quashed a coup plot by some military officers and their men. The military has played strong roles in the two people power revolts and has a recent history of restiveness.

"There were a few who tried to break from the armed forces chain of command, to fight the civilian government and establish a regime outside the constitution," Arroyo said. "We crushed this attempt.

"As commander in chief, I control the situation," said Arroyo, who held a pre-dawn emergency meeting of her national security council as the crisis threatened to spiral out of control. "My countrymen, I ask all of you to remain calm."

She stopped short of declaring martial law, a sensitive issue in a country where Marcos used it to rule by decree.

Her chief of staff, Mike Defensor, said the declaration will not include a curfew but does ban rallies, allows arrest without a warrant, permits the president to call in the military to intervene and lets her take over facilities - including media outlets - that may affect national security.

The opposition railed against the declaration, saying it showed the government's desperation.

"It could result in more political hemorrhage and security risk," said Rep. Roilo Golez, Arroyo's former national security adviser who withdrew support from her. "This could get out of control . . . if her crisis team doesn't manage this well."

Representative Teodoro Casino, a leftist leader, called the declaration "draconian" and said it was evidence that the government was headed toward "iron-handed rule."

"This could lead to a crackdown . . . against the opposition forces even if they're not engaged in any illegal activity," said Casino, who said anti-Arroyo protests won't end.

The Philippine stock market and the peso both plunged after the declaration.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Janelle Hironimus said: "We are monitoring the situation carefully. We firmly support the rule of law and constitutional government. Violence should be avoided."

Military chiefs said they backed Arroyo. They arrested an army general, who leads an elite special forces unit, for alleged involvement in a coup plot and ensured that a marine colonel was in his barracks.

"We have reduced the threat," army chief of staff Gen. Generoso Senga said. "We cannot say that it has been stopped."

An unspecified number of other people also were taken into custody, and police were seeking more, said Arroyo chief of staff Defensor.

Already-tight security was bolstered in the capital. The government cancelled rally permits and told schools to call off classes, aiming to keep the opposition from exploiting the scheduled demonstrations commemorating the 20th anniversary of the peaceful revolt that ousted Marcos.

Extra barbed wire and shipping containers were set up on roads leading to Malacanang, the presidential palace, and only essential staff were allowed in.

Checkpoints appeared around the capital. Media were barred from the main military headquarters, Camp Aguinaldo, where reinforcements arrived in eight armoured personnel carriers.

Police were already on red alert nationwide as widespread reports of a coup plot have circulated for more than a week.

Army chief Lt.-Gen. Hermogenes Esperon has said 14 junior officers were identified as being involved in a plot that included establishing a revolutionary government after Arroyo was forcibly removed and abolishing "democratic institutions."

The unusual security measures included efforts to shift former President Joseph Estrada, ousted by a second revolt in 2001, from a hospital where he was taken for eye surgery on Friday back to house detention. He has been on trial for alleged corruption. Estrada refused to leave the hospital.

Arroyo - who succeeded Estrada in January 2001 - survived three impeachment bids in September, when her dominant allies in the House of Representatives used a technicality to block complaints of alleged massive corruption and vote-rigging. Opposition groups have continued to call for her resignation.

© The Canadian Press, 2006

Veteran and First Time Arts Festivals Join together to Celebrate Peace!

Images Festival & Toronto International Deaf Film & Arts Festival present
I Love Peace - a film by Osawa Yutaka

Wednesday, March 8
Auction preview begins at 6:30p.m.
Screening at 7:30p.m

Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave, Toronto

Images Festival (IF) & Toronto International Deaf Film & Arts Festival (TIDFAF) proudly presents a screening of Osawa Yutaka's "I Love Peace" (Japan, 2003).

On Wednesday, March 8, 2006 at Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave, Images Festival and TIDFAF will co-present the masterfully crafted "I Love Peace" as part of their collaborative fundraiser/silent auction in celebration of Deaf and hearing artistic excellence.

"I Love Peace" is the story of two women's journey towards inner peace in the face of the unforgiving elements of war. Izumi (Oshidari Akiko) aims to be the first deaf creator of artificial limbs. When she meets Parizatt, a girl who has lost her leg to a mine explosion, Izumi's goal is actualized. These two women not only fulfill each other's dreams but they forge a bond neither war nor separation can break.

Images Festival (Film & Video, New Media, Installations) was established in 1987 as Toronto's only alternative to the Toronto International Film Festival. "Our focus on expanding definitions and the multiplicity of media arts practice has made the Images Festival a major showcase for the leading edge of Canadian independent work," says Deanna Bowen, Images Education Outreach Programmer. "Through IF & TIDFAF's collaboration, we are presenting programming bridging both cultural and linguistic gaps," says Bowen.

The 19th Annual Images Festival takes place from April 13-22, 2006.

TIDFAF Festival Director Catherine MacKinnon says this co-presentation is paramount to raising much needed funding for the inaugural TIDFAF festival. "Our collaboration in bringing forth such diverse and celebrated bodies of work from both hearing and Deaf community artists helps to raise awareness around the need for a more inclusive arts community. Deaf community artists represent a population that is often not seen nor heard by the mainstream arts culture," says MacKinnon.

The 1st Annual TIDFAF takes place from May 10-14, 2006 with film screenings at Isabel Bader Theatre and the Visual Arts Exhibit at the Deaf Culture Centre, Distillery District.

The auction preview begins at 6:30p.m. with "I Love Peace" screening at 7:30p.m. Admission is restricted to patrons 18 and over.

Tickets $12-Images Festival and TIDFAF/OCSD members, $15-non-members. Advance tickets available from Images Festival 416-971-8405 or TIDFAF info@tidfaf.ca Cc: cmackinnon@fidohiptop.ca.

For more information on Images Festival visit www.imagesfestival.com. For more on TIDFAF visit www.tidfaf.ca

SEKOYA KICKS OFF 2006 AT OLYMPIC STREET PARTY!

Celebrate Vancouver's countdown to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games!
Library Square, Robson Street at Homer
www.vancouver.ca/celebrationweek

CHILDREN CALL FOR CITIZEN ACTION IN SAVING AUTHOR’S THREATENED HOME

RICHMOND – Grades 3 and 4 children of Richmond’s Tomsett Elementary School will join principal Sabina Harpe and their teacher Joan Young in asking Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan and members of the public for help to save author Joy Kogawa’s childhood home. The children will present drawings of the Kogawa house and letters of support to the Mayor during a visit at Vancouver City Hall on Wednesday, March 1 at 11:30am.

Prior to their trip to city hall, the children visited Kogawa’s childhood home at 1450 West 64th Avenue and toured it with the author. For months the students have studied Kogawa’s children’s novel Naomi’s Road and they understand the story of forgiveness in the face of prejudice that Kogawa tells in her work. During the tour, the children stood under the cherry tree or “friendship” tree that Kogawa spoke of in Naomi’s Road. At city hall they will also visit the “baby” cherry tree planted there on November 1, 2005.

“I am deeply moved that these young children, responding to a book and the opera Naomi’s Road, have gathered donations to save the house and the cherry tree in the backyard. I wish to thank them and so many others for their action,” says Kogawa. “These children are the future and it is important for them to understand our past to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

The children at Tomsett Elementary School represent many different ethnic groups yet they all understand the forgiveness themes of Naomi’s Road. “One of the greatest joys to date has been to hear that—after they have read Naomi’s Road and seen the opera—some Chinese Canadian children told some Japanese Canadian children, ‘I don’t hate you anymore’, ” says Kogawa. These are the lessons of healing that Kogawa hopes the house will continue to teach as other school children tour the house once it is saved.

Bill Turner, Executive Director of TLC The Land Conservancy of British Columbia, the non-profit land trust spearheading the fundraising drive, will be on hand at Vancouver City Hall to join the children in their appeal and to thank them for their action.

Donations can be made to TLC through their website at www.conservancy.bc.ca or by calling (604) 733-2313. Donation forms can also be picked up at select bookstores throughout Vancouver.

Contacts: Tomsett Elementary School: Sabrina Harpe (604) 668-6448; TLC The Land Conservancy: Bill Turner (250) 213-1090; Heather Skydt (604) 733-2313; Kogawa House Committee: Ann-Marie Metten (604) 263-6586

'Lion King' to rule Shanghai stage

(CBC) - A Broadway-style production of The Lion King will open in Shanghai July 18, the first live Disney musical in China.

The Tony-award-winning show has been touring the world since its run on Broadway, which began in 1997. It is currently playing in Melbourne.

The Lion King tells the story of the African lion cub Simba who learns to survive in the jungle with the help of some friends and has to struggle to claim his role as king.

"We think that the story will resonate with everybody, anywhere in the world," said Stanley Cheung, China managing director for Disney, according to Associated Press.

The play will be staged at the 1,100-seat Shanghai Grand Theatre, which has hosted productions of Cats, The Sound of Music and Phantom of the Opera. Musicals have developed a large following in cosmopolitan Shanghai.

Disney will bring an original international cast and sets to perform the Broadway musical in Shanghai, including 52 performers from 12 countries. A total of 100 shows will be performed from July 18 to Oct. 8, ending during China's week-long National Day holiday.

The show will be performed in English and theatre staff will translate the libretto into Chinese for projection over the stage, Cheung said.

Language won't be a barrier, said South African performer Buyisile Zama, 27, who plays the baboon Rafik. The spectacle is enough to get the story across, she said.

Chinese news agency Xinhua says the show will cost $9.8 million to mount and ticket prices will range from about $15 to $285.

The original Broadway production was inspired by Disney's 1994 animated movie The Lion King. The musical won six Tony Awards in 1998, including best musical. More than 34 million people have seen the live show around the world.

DOC BC Workshop / DOC BC PRESENTS: What's the point?

Whether it's development, production or post... a good story and strong characters are essential to documentary filmmaking.

3 experts in the art of story telling share their knowledge and struggles in finding the beginning, middle and end.

Date/Time: March 1st, 7 pm to 9 pm
Location: 1700 Labatt Hall
SFU, Harbour Centre
515 West Hastings Street

Please come early... seating is limited.
$10 non-members, FREE for DOC BC members

Moderator: Melanie Wood
Vancouver filmmaker Melanie Wood has recently produced and directed two documentaries on the borderlands between the internet and the human spirit. A Stranger In Our Home, has been extremely popular with both broadcasters and educators worldwide, and the groundbreaking documentary o.com:Cybersex Addiction, was selected to screen at the Montreal World Film Festival. It also won the Platinum Award at Worldfest-Houston and the Jury Award at the Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival. Melanie's previous documentary credits include To Have and To Hold, The Sweet Assassin, and On Wings and Dreams: The Men Who Built Canada's Airlines. She also just completed two documentaries for the Knowledge Network's Child & Youth Mental Health issues series: Struggle for Control: Child and Youth Behaviour Disorders and Fighting Their Fears: Child And Youth Anxiety.

Gary Marcuse, Programming Executive, CBC
Gary Marcuse is a programming executive with CBC Television in Vancouver. He works closely with BC filmmakers who are applying for development support from the TransCanada fund and submitting projects to CBC documentary strands including Rough Cuts, Passionate Eye, Life and Times, and The Nature of Things. Previously, as an independent filmmaker his work included documentaries for CBC, CTV, Discovery, Knowledge Network and others. He was the executive producer of FIX, The Story of an Addicted City, a film by Nettie Wild and director and co-producer of Nuclear Dynamite and Arktika, the Russian Dream that failed.

Dianna Bodnar
Dianna has been a writer, story editor and producer on numerous television and feature film projects for the past nine years. She is currently Creative Producer of the new half-hour reality series "Manhattan Matchmaker," and recently completed a second season as story-editor for the reality series "Crash Test Mommy," now renewed for an additional 26 episodes. Other recent factual projects include story editing the documentary series "Girl Racers," writing the documentary "Weird Sex & Snowshoes: A Trek through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche", and writing the 13-part travel/lifestyle series "Spring".

Dianna also acts as story editor and script consultant for a wide variety of feature film and television projects, and as a script analyst for funding bodies and independent producers.

Don White
Don White has been a writer, director, producer, consultant, mentor, and teacher for over thirty years in the documentary film and video industries.

He has written and/or directed drama, corporate, and major educational documentaries and has won over 20 international awards for film and video production. He is currently contracted as creative consultant to the National Film Board of Canada.

Taste Indonesia

Straddling the Equator and streching across 3,500 miles of Pacific Ocean from East to West, Indonesia is a country of more than 18,000 islands, of which only about 6,000 are inhabited. Indonesia must be the most diverse country in the world with 190 million people comprises some 50 large ethnic groups and 250 smaller ones. Thus the Indonesian cuisine reflects the vast variety of people that live on these 13,000 islands.

The Indonesian Canadian community in Vancouver will host Taste Indonesia, presented by Gado Gado Indonesian Students Association of UBC (GISAU) and Consulate General of Indonesia, Saturday night of March 11, 2006 - 6pm to 9pm. The festivities will take place in the Alice McKay Room at the Vancouver Public Library – 350 W. Georgia St.

The room will be transformed to a breathtaking experience of authentic Indonesian food escapade, fantastic music, startling Balinese dance, and more. Other features include fashion show, a presentation of the prominent Batik cloth traditional making, and paintings auction.

Admission to Taste Indonesia is $25, which includes 4 scrumptious dishes, prepared by Spice Islands Indonesian Restaurant. Everyone is welcome to attend.

This is a special introductory event for the explorINDONESIAN series of events which will be organized by the Indonesian Canadian communities in BC. explorINDONESIAN is a special community initiative of the explorASIAN 2006 Festival - celebrating Asian Heritage Month (May) in the Lower Mainland. Working together with PERMAI BC, GISAU hopes to be part of this vibrant cultural experience. Furthermore, partial proceeds will be contributed to the BC Cancer Society as a contribution to the Canadian community which has warmly embraced Indonesians in Vancouver.

GISAU President, Sarah Batara, expects 200-250 people to come this year. “It is time for Indonesia’s rich culture to shine. Be it our traditional cuisines or arts and crafts, they will never fail to excite your senses!”

For more information or ticket purchase(s), call (604)779-1616, visit gisau.org , permaibc.org or email TasteIndonesia@hotmail.com.

MONITOR 2: Contemporary South Asian Film + Video

Sunday March 5, 2006
At the National Film Board of Canada, 150 John Street, Toronto ON.
3 to 5 PM, Reception to follow Q&A
Admission is $8 at the door. SAVAC Members are FREE.

Curated by Jane Kim with Riaz Mehmood, Renata Mohamed, Paramjit Rai, and Anand Rajaram

MONITOR is an annual screening of short works by South Asian artists that showcase new directions in film and video. The shorts in this collection represent different artistic approaches that offer exciting new ways of looking at the world; what once seemed familiar and known become mysterious and opaque through the lens of these artists.

SAVAC (South Asian Visual Arts Collective) is a Toronto-based, artist-run, nonprofit organization dedicated to the development and presentation of contemporary visual art by artists of South Asian origin, within Canada and internationally. SAVAC is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council.

For more information, please contact: Nadia Kurd at 416.542.1661, info@savac.net, or www.savac.net

Trial delayed for Chinese NY Times researcher

(CBC) - A Chinese court has delayed the trial of Zhao Yan, the Chinese researcher for the New York Times who was charged with "divulging state secrets."

Zhao's lawyer Mo Shaoping said Wednesday that the trial, which was to have begun this week, has been postponed until March 20.

Mo said the delay comes after he and the U.S. daily called for a review of the evidence against Zhao and called for Joseph Kahn, the paper's Beijing bureau chief, to appear as a witness.

Zhao, a former Chinese journalist who had reported on the plight of peasants, has been held in prison since his arrest in 2004.

The arrest came after the Times published in article by Kahn revealing that former Chinese President Jiang Zemin had offered to resign. The story appeared two weeks before an official announcement from the Chinese government.

Police arrested Zhao in late September 2004 and charged him with revealing state secrets and with fraud. He has denied all charges.

If found guilty, Zhao could receive a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison up to a maximum penalty of death.

The Communist Chinese government has held strict control over its domestic media since taking power in 1949. According the 2005 annual report from Reporters Without Borders, China has imprisoned 26 journalists - the highest number of any country in the world.

In December, the Paris-based, press-freedom group named Zhao one of the winners of its Fondation de France prizes, which are awarded to "journalists who, through their work, attitude or principled stands, have shown a strong commitment to press freedom."

Nuit Blanche Programming

Submission Deadline: March 6, 5pm, 2006

The City of Toronto invites You, the Art Community, to transform Toronto into a site of contemporary art through all night access to exhibitions and programs. By joining forces on September 30th 2006, Nuit Blanche programming illuminates Toronto's cultural hotspots and creative communities, inviting the public to encounter the city and contemporary art in a new way for one sleepless night.

For a Submission Package, please email nuitblanche@toronto.ca

Jessica Rose & Jenn Goodwin
nuit blanche
an all night contemporary art thing
September 30 / October 1 2006
7:01pm to 7:15 am
exhibitions | installations | performances | discoveries |
phone: 416.395-7371
email: nuitblanche@toronto.ca
web: www.livewithculture.ca

TO Live With Culture
Produced by Toronto Special Events

Riverdale Art Walk

RAW weekend: June 3 & 4, 2006
Deadline March 10
www.riverdaleartwalk.com
416.465.0302

The Riverdale Art Walk is back for another installment of this wonderful neighbourhood art experience. Visitors from all over Toronto and outside the GTA look forward to this annual exhibition that is both relaxed in nature and very professional in content.

With the use of a 16 page, full colour glossy catalogue that is distributed throughout the city as well as being inserted into NOW magazine in the Hot Summer Guide, visitors can find their favourite artists during the weekend and for the remainder of the year. This well designed tool not only shows a sample of the artists work but lists their own contact information making it easier to locate the work they loved any time.

Further, a sample of the work will appear on our web site with a link to your web site.

For those who like to show in the great outdoors we offer the Jimmie Simpson Park while those who would rather show from a local retail site can access our detailed list of friendly and suitable merchant sites.

Finally, we want you to get the most out of the RAW. We offer 3 information sessions, all designed to help you market and sell your work to its maximum advantage.

Hang Man Gallery, 756 Queen Street East. Toronto
Submission fee is $175.00 which includes a $25.00 non-refundable administration fee.
Please go to our web site www.riverdaleartwalk.com for the submission form or call 416.465.0302 for more information.

ART IS MORE FUN IN THE RAW.

Japanese burglar picked victims by sniffing homes for expensive perfume: police

TOKYO (AP) - A Japanese man arrested for alleged burglary picked his victims by sniffing women's homes for expensive perfume, police said Wednesday. Seiichi Shirota, 46, sniffed at the doors of potential targets for expensive women's perfume to determine if the occupant was a single woman likely to own a collection of expensive designer bags, watches and jewelry, according to Kanagawa prefectural (state) police spokesman Tsuneo Kosuge.

The suspect was arrested on Dec. 23 last year for allegedly stealing three rings worth about 300,000 yen (about $3,000 Cdn) after breaking into a woman's apartment in Yokohama, near Tokyo, Kosuge said.

Shirota told police he relied on his smelling abilities to target apartments of single women. The alleged thief also made sure laundry hanging from a clothesline at a balcony included no men's underwear, according to Kosuge.

Police have linked the suspect to about 200 cases of robbery worth an estimated 60 million yen ($580,000 Cdn).

© The Canadian Press, 2006

OCAD Senior Thesis Show

Opening: Wednesday March 8th, 2006 - 6pm to 11pm
Exhibition: March 8th to April 2nd
Location: Steam Whistle Brewing, The Roundhouse - 255 Bremner Blvd.
(south of the CN Tower) (416) 362-2337 x 246

Ontario College of Art and Design will make it easy for you to see their Senior Thesis Show this year. Replacing "Go West" from last year, where OCAD student work was scattered throughout many of the city's commercial galleries for a single weekend, this year The Gallery at Steam Whistle Brewing will play host to a curated show of 20 pieces of Senior Thesis work.

About Steam Whistle
Steam Whistle, an independent brewery housed in Toronto's historic John St. Roundhouse, hosts monthly art shows in effort to promote the talent of local artists to the brewery's visiting public. Although many are established artists, most exhibitors are emerging artists, some showing for the first time. Steam Whistle does not charge rent for the gallery space, nor do they take commission on any works that sell. At the close of each show, the artist donates one piece of their choice to the brewery's collection.

Steam Whistle opens its gallery free to the public - Monday to Saturday 12noon to 6pm.

Simon Hermant, Curator
Steam Whistle Gallery
Toronto, Ontario
Phone: (416) 362-2337 ext. 238
E-mail: simon@steamwhistle.ca

Naomi's Road and The World of Opera

Here are performances of Naomi's Road and The World of Opera (in 45 Minutes) that are coming soon to your community.

Please contact local presenters for tickets.

Saturday, March 4, 2006 7:00 pm
West Vancouver Memorial Library
1950 Marine Drive
West Vancouver, BC
Admission: Free
Information: website http://www.westvanlib.org/

Saturday, March 11, 2006, 7:30pm
Powell Street Festival Society presents Naomi's Road
Vancouver Japanese Language School Hall
487 Alexander Street
Vancouver, BC
Admission: $10 (general) / $8 (students, seniors) / $5 (children 12 and under)
Tickets and Information: (604) 683 8240 / www.powellstreetfestival.com

B.C. ups arts, culture and heritage by $3 million

The 2006/2007 British Columbia provincial budget includes $3 million for the Arts, Culture and Heritage line of the budget of the Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Arts.

The $3 million increase will be used for initiatives such as feasibility studies, strategic planning, supporting communities in hosting major cultural events and developing plans to commemorate the province's sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary. "In the Speech from the Throne the government said that arts and culture are the building blocks of innovation, invention and understanding," said Heather Redfern, Executive Director of the Alliance for Arts and Culture. "Unfortunately that sentiment has not translated into an increased investment in the BC Arts Council. The Council is the province's best vehicle to deliver sustainable arts and cultural programming in communities across British Columbia."

In addition, the provincial government announced a $40.5 million dollar contribution to establish a World Centre for Digital Media on the Great Northern Way Campus in Vancouver. Three other infrastructure projects, an Asia-Pacific Museum of Trade and Culture, a National Centre of Northwest Aboriginal Art and Culture and a World Women's History Museum will undergo feasibility studies.

Over 14,400 authors in 19th annual Public Lending Right (PLR) payment round

Over 14,400 authors in 19th annual Public Lending Right (PLR) payment round
Ottawa, - 21 February 2005 –A total of 14,441 Canadian writers, translators and illustrators received payments last week amounting to more than $8.9 million from the Public Lending Right (PLR) Commission. The PLR Commission, founded in 1986, remunerates Canadian authors for the presence of their books in the country’s public libraries. PLR payments are determined by sampling the holdings of a representative number of libraries across the country.

This year, the PLR program welcomed 811 new authors, out of whom 685 received a payment. A total of 3,707 new eligible titles were also registered in the program.

The Commission made several changes to its sampling procedures in this payment round. In the past, sampled libraries included both public and university libraries. As of this year’s payments, only public libraries are being sampled. This change enables the Commission to respond more effectively to its original objective, which is to pay authors for the free public access to their books in libraries. The impetus for this change arose from developments in public library collections over the past few years, particularly with regard to the amalgamation of municipal library catalogues and the increased accessibility of province-wide public library catalogues.

The Public Lending Right Commission is an autonomous body which operates under the administrative aegis of the Canada Council for the Arts. Comprised of representatives of national writers’, librarians’ and publishers’ associations, the Commission administers the PLR program.

http://www.plr-dpp.ca/news/newsrelease_0205-e.asp

Arroyo visits rescue workers, still no survivors in Philippines landslide

(CBC) - A decision will likely be made Thursday on whether to abandon the search for survivors of the mudslide disaster in the Philippines.

Just over 100 bodies have been recovered, with more than 1,000 people still missing, presumed dead.

It has been more than five days since a sea of mud, rock and debris inundated the mountainside village of Guinsaugon, on Leyte island, but not one survivor has been found.

Much of the rescue effort focused on excavating the site of a school where 240 children and teachers were thought to have been at the time of the disaster.

Bad weather and shifting terrain have prevented teams from uncovering the site and listening probes have failed to find any signs of life.

Friday's landslide, triggered by five times the region's normal rainfall over two weeks, destroyed Guinsaugon, a farming village of about 1,800 people.

On Wednesday, Philippines President Gloria Arroyo paid her first visit to the scene of the disaster. Arroyo met with rescue workers and government officials for an update on the massive international rescue operation.

Arroyo thanked the international community for its support, especially the United States which has committed between 2,500 and 3,000 troops, stationed at the scene or on supply ships.

She also thanked Malaysia, Taiwan, Spain and Indonesia which have sent doctors, nurses, troops or specialist teams to help in the rescue efforts.

BROKEN

Meta.for Theatre Society and Broken Whisper in association with the Firehall Arts Centre present

BROKEN
Five Plays by C. E. Gatchalian
Directed by Sean Cummings

Starring Tanja Dixon-Warren, Michael Fera, Ntsikie Kheswa, Thrasso Petras, and Nelson Wong

March 2-11, 2006 (Preview March 1)
The Firehall Arts Centre
280 East Cordova Street, Vancouver

Tickets:
Tuesday to Saturday, 8 pm: $18/14
Friday to Saturday, 8 pm: $22/18
Wednesday, March 1 (preview), 8 pm: half price
Wednesday, March 8, 1 pm: pay-what-can-matinee
Sunday, March 5, 2 pm matinee: $18/14

Tickets and info: (604) 689-0926

Meta.for Theatre Society and Broken Whisper, in association with the Firehall Arts Centre, are pleased to present Broken, a show by award-winning playwright C. E. Gatchalian (Claire, Crossing). The show runs from March 2-11, 2006, with a preview performance on March 1, at the Firehall Arts Centre. Curtain is at 8 pm.

Broken is a suite of five one-act plays linked by common themes: repression, alienation, obsession, sexual identity, and love. From a ménage a trois involving a trio of twentysomethings to a middle-aged couple dealing with the truth about their estranged son, to a fast-talking gigolo who brings a plague upon the city, Broken is marked by the intensity, starkness, bleak humour and lyricism that have made C. E. Gatchalian one of Canada’s most acclaimed and controversial young playwrights.

Directed by Sean Cummings, who directed the critically lauded world premiere of C. E. Gatchalian’s Crossing in June 2004, the show features a high-powered mixture of both established and emerging professionals. The husband-and-wife team of Tanja Dixon-Warren and Michael Fera, co-artistic directors of Hoarse Raven Theatre (Tony and Tina’s Wedding, Corpus Christi), will be making a rare appearance together onstage. Rounding out the talented cast is Thrasso Petras (Corpus Christi, Never Swim Alone), Ntsikie Kheswa (The Tempest), and Nelson Wong (Beyond Therapy, Sex in Vancouver).

Nine-time Jessie nominee Yvan Morissette (Set Design) heads the show’s crew. He is joined by Mélissa C. Powell (Lighting Design), Niki Boyd (Stage Management), Moira Fentum (Costume Design), Amanda Lockitch (Dramaturge) and Jeffrey Fisher (Production Management).

Sean Cummings, Amanda Lockitch, and Mélissa C. Powell worked together on Gatchalian’s play Crossing in 2004, and were so inspired by their experience that they decided to come together to form a new theatre company, Meta.for Theatre. Their aim is to produce theatre of the highest caliber by providing emerging artists and seasoned professionals with opportunities to grow by working together on productions of contemporary drama that reflect the cultural mosaic of Vancouver, challenge audiences, inspire artists, and provoke thought. Meta.for Theatre’s most recent outing was their critically acclaimed rendering of two Canadian one-act plays, Never Swim Alone and Warriors, produced in association with Street Rep Theatre Company at Pacific Theatre in June 2005.

Broken Whisper is a new theatre and literary production company whose aim is to deconstruct and question the underlying assumptions that shape mainstream thinking about racial, sexual, and cultural issues. Their mandate is to produce theatre and literature that reflect the postmodern nature of Canadian society. Broken is their inaugural production.

Broken is made possible by the generous support and assistance of the Firehall Arts Centre, the BC Arts Council, and the City of Vancouver.

For more information on the show please go to www.metafortheatre.ca.