Georgia Asian Times July 1-15, 2017
Page 17
Misc Asia China’s first lady makes a splash in tense Hong Kong visit Hong Kong, June 30, 2017 — Xi Jinping’s every word is being closely watched during his first visit to politically divided Hong Kong as China’s leader, but his wife is stealing some of the spotlight in a soft power push by Beijing.
The wealthy South-east Asian citystate imports more than 90 per cent of its food, much of it from neighboring countries, which can leave it exposed to potential supply chain disruptions.
Citizen Farm produces up to 100 kg of vegetables, 20 kg of herbs and 10-15 kg of mushrooms — enough to feed up to 500 people — a day. It’s tiny compared with demand for food in the country of 5.5 million people, but it’s a start, said Darren Ho, head of the Citizen Farm initiative. “No system will replace imports, we are here to make us more food resilient,” said Ho, adding that it was “up to the community” to decide how self-sufficient it wants to be. Government agencies are considering the company’s urban farming concept for other parts of the city, including spaces around high-rise public housing. — Reuters
Edible Garden City, a company with a grow-your-own-food message, has designed and built more than 50 food gardens in the tropical city for clients ranging from restaurants and hotels to schools and residences. One of its projects is Citizen Farm, an 8,000 square meter plot that used to be a prison, converted into an urban farm “where the local community can learn and grow together”, according to the project website.
Others called her “dignified and noble” and “a real beauty.” Peng emerged from the plane yesterday holding hands with Xi, wearing a high-collar white striped jacket paired with a beige skirt and an upswept hairstyle.
Singapore turns vacant space into urban farms Singapore, June 30 — Resource-scarce Singapore is turning vacant pockets of land into space for urban farming as the island city strives to ease its reliance on imported food.
“Although I’m not a fan of Xi, his wife is definitely more than presentable,” one user commented on the website of the usually anti-China Apple Daily website.
Later that day, she visited kindergarten students and handed out gifts as they played. First lady Peng Liyuan has made headlines for her dress sense and charm as she meets members of the public, while Xi is sticking to more formal visits, including a massive military parade and a meeting with police trainees. The couple arrived in the bustling financial hub yesterday to mark 20 years since the city was handed back to China by Britain, at a time when tensions are high over Beijing’s encroaching influence on the semi-autonomous city. Peng’s curated image shows Beijing’s desire to boost its soft power on the global stage, with state media lauding her “public diplomacy” as spreading “kindness and goodwill”. The wives of Chinese presidents have traditionally been far less prominent publicly than their counterparts overseas, particularly US first ladies. Xi is not scheduled to meet regular citizens during the three-day trip to Hong Kong, a task that has been taken on by his celebrated soprano singer spouse who visited a kindergarten and elderly home in the first two days. She has received a warm welcome on social media, even on traditionally skeptical forums.
Today, as Xi oversaw a massive military parade in rural Hong Kong, Peng visited an elderly home wearing a dark-colored belted dress adorned with a flower brooch as residents praised her for being “smart” and “pretty”. But some observers criticized the visits as exploiting more vulnerable members of society to stage a show. “Little children don’t understand what’s happening, only that a stranger auntie is giving them presents,” one social media user commented on Facebook. “Brainwashing starts from kindergarten. How scary,” another said. Peng was a well-known folk singer and rose to superstardom performing at gala shows belting out patriotic lyrics. She has rarely performed since Xi rose to the presidency, instead accompanying him on trips abroad and speaking at events on health and philanthropy within China. She performed in Hong Kong at the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the 1997 handover, wearing a lavish pink and red gown.