I saw the movie by chance and loved it. I lucked into this article.
Its heartwarming.

Wei Minzhi: Movie Acting Changed Her Life
June 18, 2007
http://www.10thnpc.org.cn/english/features/cw/214270.htm

The poster of Not One Less

Eight years ago, the village girl, Wei Minzhi, from Hebei Province
became world-famous overnight for the role she played in a film
directed by Zhang Yimou, Not One Less (Yi Ge Dou Bu Neng Shao).
However, Wei has not appeared in many movies since then.

Eight years have elapsed and Wei is now studying on a full scholarship
at Brigham Young University - Hawaii.

World-famous Overnight

If it were not for that film, Wei would have had to leave school at an
early age, tending sheep, and then getting married, like any other
girls in her village in Chicheng County, Hebei Province. However, a
chance encounter changed the course of her life.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/04/AR2008050401599....

The Facets Of Chinese Nationalism

By Yang Jianli
Monday, May 5, 2008; Page A17
Frequently the past few months, I have been asked about the wisdom of
using the Olympics as an opportunity to push China to improve its
human rights record. Underlying these questions is a sense that
international pressure may have played into the hands of the Chinese
Communist Party by triggering nationalist emotions and rallying
indignant Chinese people behind the regime.

This concern is understandable. It is critical, however, that people
distinguish among the four types of nationalism in China today to
determine how best to pressure the regime to make improvements.

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/155289-Shao-Jiang-China-remains-a-land-of-torture...

Shao Jiang: China remains a land of torture and repression

The Independent
Thu, 01 May 2008 01:14 EDT

As the Olympic torch heads up Everest on the next phase of its
troubled journey next week, it is almost certain to attract more
protests as it gets closer to Tibet.

But peaceful demonstrations must go ahead: what's becoming clear is
that the real opportunity to protest against the Chinese government's
treatment of its people will be from outside the country. The
authorities are gradually strangling dissent within China to ensure
that the Games in August go off without any embarrassing protests.

The crackdown on human rights activists in China has intensified in
the last nine months. It has never been easy for people to speak out
about issues like political freedom, the death penalty, HIV/AIDS, land
grabs, or the environment - I know this from personal experience - but
if anything, things are getting worse.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jEAs8FP7Ye_H1D3sYmJO5uEvvOVA

Chinese Uighur exile urges Olympic boycott over 'genocide'
2 days ago
TOKYO (AFP) — A senior exiled leader of China's Muslim Uighur minority
has urged a boycott of the Olympics, accusing Beijing of "cultural...

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gVmcDo7Dgwp1qpl33R6iYOCumsNw

Torch relay worsens China crackdown: Uighur leader
23 hours ago
BEIJING (AFP) — The planned route of the Olympic torch through China's
restive Xinjiang region is worsening Chinese repression there and...

Tracking the Next Killer Flu
(National Geographic - Oct. 2005)

By Tim Appenzeller

In Southeast Asia a virus that kills chickens
is now also killing people. The race is on to
keep the bird flu from ravaging the world.

Little Ngoan was buried behind her parents'
hut three weeks ago. Her grave, a bulky
concrete tomb like others dotting the
Vietnamese countryside, rests on high
ground between a fishpond and yellow-
green rice fields. At one end her family laid
out her cherished possessions: a doll's chair,
a collection of shells, plastic sandals. They
painted her tomb powder blue.

China experts discover rice gene that doubles yield
Reuters
Published: Sunday, May 04, 2008
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=492239

KABUL -- Scientists in China have identified a single gene that
appears to control rice yield, as well as its height and flowering
time, taking what may be a crucial step in global efforts to increase
crop productivity.

In an article published in Nature Genetics, the researchers said they
were able to pinpoint a single gene, Ghd7, which appears to determine
all three traits.

Previous studies identified a region on chromosome 7 which seemed to
be responsible, but they were not able to zero in on any specific
gene.

"Our study shows that a single gene can control several traits with
major effects. It can double the yield, determine flowering time and
plant height," said Zhang Qifa of the Huazhong Agricultural University
in Wuhan province in China.

Courthouse Bombing Has MO of Serial Bomber
Method of Attack in San Diego Resembles Bombing of FedEx Facility in
April
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=4784789&page=1
By RICHARD ESPOSITO
May 4, 2008
An explosion early this morning at the Federal Courthouse in San Diego
may be the work of a serial bomber who in April set off bombs at a
Federal Express facility in the city, law enforcement officials said.

FBI agents investigate the site of an explosion at the Edward J.
Schwartz Federal Courthouse in San Diego on Sunday May 4, 2008. A
suspected pipe bomb exploded at the federal courthouse in downtown San
Diego early Sunday, damaging a door and blowing out a window. (AP
Photo/FBI) According to authorities, it appears the explosive device
was inside a backpack. The bomber placed the device at the doors to
the Edward J. Schwartz United States Courthouse, lit the fuse and
fled, officials said.

It will be nice if India can catch up with China. We don't know the
full consequences but it is probably good. The key phrase is 'India
is on the cusp of something big' which is the position Indian had been
stuck at for the past 60 years.

Tiger economies are snapping at US heelsBut it's not clear whether
Beijing or New Delhi will catch up first

Richard Wachman
The Observer,

China and India and are moving toward becoming the biggest economies
in the world: with 2.4bn people, or 40 per cent of the world's
population and annual GDP growth rates of between 8 per cent and 10
per cent, experts say that they could one day overtake the US.

Professor Pieter Bottelier, of the Centre for Strategic International
Studies, says: 'If these two countries continue to grow at the current
rate, they will overtake America, although that probably won't happen
for a number of decades.'

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CLA20060410&articleId...

Pack Journalism can be Lethal
Instead of checking facts, the media prefer to follow what others are
saying

by Gregory Clark

Global Research, April 10, 2006
Japan Times

Some call it pack journalism. It is also lazy journalism.

Instead of checking facts, the media prefer to follow what others are
saying. And what others are saying is often inspired by establishment
hardliners seeking to impose their agendas with the help of bogus news
agencies, subsidized research outfits and hired scribblers.

Beijing is a frequent victim. One example is the pack journalistic
myth of a Tiananmen Square massacre of students in 1989. All one needs
to do to get the true story is insert "Tiananmen" into Google and read
the reports at the time from none other than the U.S. Embassy in
Beijing.