Latest news with #Xiang
Irish Times
4 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Communist Party membership shares the qualities of LinkedIn and the Legion of Mary
It had been a long time since we last met and although the traffic was bad and Xiang was going to be almost two hours late, we were determined to meet for dinner regardless. But before he arrived he told me there was something I should know. 'I'm very angry and sad,' he said. Xiang worked at a forest park outside Beijing where he led a team of 12 people who spent their days planting, pruning and trimming. He enjoyed the work and loved being outdoors but on the day of our dinner, his boss had told him this idyll was about to end. 'I'm being transferred to the Party headquarters,' he said. READ MORE 'I'm a Party member.' The move was a promotion but it would mean working at a desk in an office every day, dealing with administrative processes. His boss had tried to persuade him to make the same move a couple of years ago but Xiang resisted and the plan was dropped. 'He's a kind man and he wants to help me but I don't want to move,' he said. Xiang's best years in the forest park were during the coronavirus pandemic, when staff were put on half time and he worked one week and was off the next. On his weeks off, he would drive to an unfamiliar province, staying in cheap hotels as he explored the countryside. 'When I retire, I'm going to buy a camper van and drive all over China ,' he told me, The half-time working arrangement continued for a year after the end of zero-Covid restrictions but with one unwelcome modification. If Xiang wanted to leave the Beijing area during his week off, he would have to inform his superiors in advance of where he was going. 'I stopped going away. I didn't want to have to talk to them about it,' he said. A couple of years earlier, Xiang and his colleagues were invited to hand in their passports to their superiors for safekeeping. If they wanted to travel outside the country, they only had to ask and the passport would be returned. 'Nobody does,' he said. Such restrictions are among the drawbacks of Communist Party membership, which also carries advantages such as access to better jobs, housing and government benefits. Many of the Party's 98 million members joined with an eye on their career, although one of those who did so told me recently that he later became interested in the ideology and embraced it. 'It's like a religion. You have to believe in socialism and all of that,' my friend Song said. Song is not a Party member but many of his friends are, most of them working in the arts and related fields. Bookish and bohemian, these people are nothing like the stereotype of a blank-faced communist bureaucrat but although they are not zealots, they don't seem too cynical about the Party and its purposes either. The rewards of Party membership are most obvious in the public service and state-owned enterprises, where it is a prerequisite for holding positions above a certain level. Party members can help one another to make connections too, in private business as well as in universities, the professions and the broader state sector. But they are also expected to volunteer for everything from disaster relief to organising neighbourhood clean-ups. And obligatory study groups for Xi Jinping Thought and self-criticism sessions mean that Party membership shares the qualities of LinkedIn and the Legion of Mary. Over dinner, Xiang persuaded himself that he would once again escape his redeployment to Party headquarters and that his boss would intervene on his behalf. But over the next few days, his mood appeared to darken as he sent me pictures of empty McDonald's wrappers and told me he was drinking beer at noon on his days off. When I heard from him again a few weeks later, he told me that the move had gone ahead and he had started his new job. I asked him how he was feeling about it. 'I'm not happy. I feel very sad,' he said. 'This weekend I'm going to buy some flowering plants. I can't change my job so I must change my mood.'
Sydney Morning Herald
19-05-2025
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
This council spent millions on a beach. Just don't bring your cossie
Manicured gardens give way to gleaming sand, as the water sloshes gently against weathered stone blocks. You could be at Lake Como – or Barangaroo's Marrinawi Cove. You might even be tempted to take a dip. An angry red warning brings you to your senses: 'This is not a designated swim site,' it reads. 'Use of this facility may be hazardous.' But McIlwaine Park in Rhodes – part of a project to make the Parramatta River swimmable by 2025 at a cost of $8.7 million – won't be hosting bathers any time soon. Nicole Xiang, 44, regularly brings her children to the park. They enjoy the new playground and picnic shelters from an additional $1.6 million upgrade this year, but she remains unconvinced by the foreshore. 'I wouldn't call it a beach. I think it's more like a large sandpit. We hardly use it,' she says. She has no illusions about going for a swim in the suburb where Union Carbide manufactured Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. 'You just don't know what's what in the water.' Loading The authorities do: although McIlwaine Park was identified as a possible swim site in 2018, testing later deemed it unsafe. Canada Bay Council, with state funding, went ahead with the beach, which is separated from the water by a sandstone seawall. Visitors are encouraged to wade in tidal rock pools at the water's edge, though Xiang says she remains wary.
The Age
19-05-2025
- General
- The Age
This council spent millions on a beach. Just don't bring your cossie
Manicured gardens give way to gleaming sand, as the water sloshes gently against weathered stone blocks. You could be at Lake Como – or Barangaroo's Marrinawi Cove. You might even be tempted to take a dip. An angry red warning brings you to your senses: 'This is not a designated swim site,' it reads. 'Use of this facility may be hazardous.' But McIlwaine Park in Rhodes – part of a project to make the Parramatta River swimmable by 2025 at a cost of $8.7 million – won't be hosting bathers any time soon. Nicole Xiang, 44, regularly brings her children to the park. They enjoy the new playground and picnic shelters from an additional $1.6 million upgrade this year, but she remains unconvinced by the foreshore. 'I wouldn't call it a beach. I think it's more like a large sandpit. We hardly use it,' she says. She has no illusions about going for a swim in the suburb where Union Carbide manufactured Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. 'You just don't know what's what in the water.' Loading The authorities do: although McIlwaine Park was identified as a possible swim site in 2018, testing later deemed it unsafe. Canada Bay Council, with state funding, went ahead with the beach, which is separated from the water by a sandstone seawall. Visitors are encouraged to wade in tidal rock pools at the water's edge, though Xiang says she remains wary.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lingyun Xiang Was Awarded the RSSG Royal Medal of Honor by the Royal Society of St. George
Los Angeles, California--(Newsfile Corp. - May 16, 2025) - On April 27, 2025, during the St. George's Day Gala held at the Hollywood Museum in California, Marquess Lingyun Xiang was awarded the RSSG Medal of Honor. The medal, presented by the Royal Society of St. George (RSSG), recognizes Marquess Xiang of San Prospero for his outstanding contributions to the fields of global economy, education, and public welfare. Lingyun Xiang was Awarded the RSSG Royal Medal of Honor by the Royal Society of St. George The Royal Society of St. George, founded in 1894, is dedicated to promoting English culture, traditions, and patriotic spirit. Since its establishment, the society has enjoyed the support of the British monarchy, and its current patron is King Charles III. Each year, the RSSG honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions in various fields at its annual gala. Marquess Lingyun Xiang holds the title of Marquess of San Prospero, conferred upon him by the Austrian Royal Family and the Holy Roman Empire. An economist living in the United States, Professor Lingyun Xiang holds certified public accountant qualifications in multiple countries. He is a recipient of the King's Medal of the United Kingdom and the European Excellence Award, a Fellow of the Royal Society of St. George, a Lifetime Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a Foreign Academician of the National Academy of Engineering of Ukraine. He serves as a Lifetime Professor at the European University, a doctoral Advisor at the University of Maryland, a distinguished Professor at Peking University, and a Visiting Professor at Beijing Union University, Capital Normal University, and Shaanxi University of Science and Technology. He was previously honored with the title of "International Charity Ambassador". He has served as an economic advisor to numerous countries and royal families, including the Royal Family of Thailand, the Republic of Chile, Ukraine, Turkey, Uzbekistan, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Central African Republic, Haiti, Liberia, Libya, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, North Macedonia, Ghana, Gabon, Benin, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, and Mali, among others. Contact：The Royal Society of St. GeorgeTel: +44 (0) 20 3225 5011Eml: info@ To view the source version of this press release, please visit
Hamilton Spectator
13-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
China's army of food delivery drivers get by with help from discount ‘loving meals'
BEIJING (AP) — After the lunchtime rush, it's time for China's food delivery drivers to eat. Liu Lijie, halfway through a 13-hour workday, parked his electric scooter in front of a restaurant in Beijing for his go-to choice, lamb noodle soup with a side of pickles, for 12 yuan ($1.65), a discount of 6 yuan off the regular price. The reduced-price meal is part of a movement that offers free or discounted meals to people in need , no questions asked. Known as 'aixincan' (eye-sheen-zan), or 'loving meals,' they are available at some restaurants in major Chinese cities, home to large populations of migrant workers who come looking for jobs. 'There is a lot of pressure in life since I came to Beijing to work, so eating aixincan is both economical and practical,' said the 40-year-old Liu, who arrived two years ago from nearby Shanxi province. Eager to get back to earning money, he digs into his meal at a branch of the Yushiji restaurant chain without even stopping to remove his helmet, branded with the name of the popular food delivery app. The movement, also known as 'suixincan' or 'follow-the-heart meals,' can be traced back to the early 2000s. It has been featured in China's government-run media and on social media, including posts in which influencers pose as hungry customers in need to highlight the generosity of the restaurants. Luo Shuai, a driver for Meituan , China's largest food delivery service, learned of Yushiji's discounted meal initiative through colleagues and has since become a daily customer at the Beijing chain, which serves food from his native Henan province. 'It reminded me of my hometown,' said the 27-year-old Luo, who moved to Beijing at the end of last year. Among China's nearly 300 million migrant workers, an increasing preference for gig-based work such as delivery driving over factory work has emerged in recent years. There are now more than 200 million gig-economy workers, according to government data. For a full-time driver, the average monthly pay at Meituan can reach more than $1,500. But only 11% of the app's drivers work full-time. Part-timers in the biggest cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, averaged closer to $1,000 a month in 2024. The existence of discounted meals reflects a shift in China's urban landscape, according to Xiang Biao, head of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Germany. Previously, migrant workers could carve out their own spaces by helping each other, he said, but those networks have disappeared with the erosion of informal restaurants in cities for hygiene and safety reasons. 'They will have to seek help from strangers,' Xiang said. The state-implemented cleanup since the late 2000s of 'urban villages' — spaces where migrant workers would live that grew alongside urban development — has increased those pressures. The stigma of asking for free food exists in all societies, Xiang said, though it may not be an issue for delivery drivers in China, as they are already socially marginalized. Feng Yong, the 43-year-old manager of 'Doornail Meat Pie' — so named because its food resembles the round wooden nail covers on classical Chinese doors — spends much of his day kneading, filling and wrapping the pies at the Muslim Chinese restaurant in Beijing. He said the restaurant began serving aixincan to help people in need and inspire others to do the same. A Shandong province native who moved to the Chinese capital more than 20 years ago, Feng said he has a deep understanding of being an outsider struggling in a new city. The key, he said, is to avoid any embarrassment for customers who are in need. Some hesitate at the entrance. The staff do what they can to help and don't inquire about a potential customer's circumstances. 'We don't refuse them anything, just as long as they're full,' Feng said.
