Zhao

Re "In L.A., his own wall of China," Column One, March 1 What Zhao Yan Feng had to put up with in class is awful, and one reason more money alone will not save public schools. Students must want to learn, and their parents must insist that they give school their best efforts. It would be nice for Zhao to transfer to a magnet, charter or private school for a few weeks and see that most students want to learn and (typically) respect their teachers. Larry Goldstein Los Angeles A few weeks after completing Zhao's class, most students will forget what little Mandarin they learned.

One of the most prominent theater companies in England has found itself under fire for its casting of a classic Chinese play. The Royal Shakespeare Co. in Stratford-upon-Avon is being criticized for casting just three actors of Asian descent in the ensemble cast of "The Orphan of Zhao," one of the most famous plays in Chinese history. The RSC's production, directed by Gregory Doran and adapted by James Fenton, features a multicultural cast of 17 performers. Most of the principal characters -- including the title role -- will be played by non-Asian actors.

Communist Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang, appealing for a halt in student protests, pledged early today that China will implement democratic reforms. "We will . . . work out concrete measures to enhance democracy and law, oppose corruption, build an honest and clean government and expand openness," Zhao said in a message to student hunger strikers quoted by the official New China News Agency. The message was delivered shortly after midnight to students gathered in central Beijing's Tian An Men Square, the agency reported.

A laundromat operator hands over her life savings to a company supposedly building Rose Parade floats. A married welder falls for a beautiful woman, who beats him up because he won't give her $60,000. An old lady is left empty-handed after she pays $100,000 for a chest of gold nuggets she's told have been unearthed on a construction site. In the insular Chinese world of the San Gabriel Valley, swindlers find easy prey in the steady flow of new immigrants, vulnerable to the predators lurking in their midst.

One million people in Beijing and tens of thousands in other cities marched today to demand that Premier Li Peng resign, and there were signs that he is losing a power struggle with liberal factions of the leadership. Foreign Minister Qian Qichen, in the first official illumination on the backstage struggle since Li declared martial law in parts of the capital Saturday, said Communist Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang remains in office. Zhao, who heads a more liberal faction, favored meeting with university students who occupied Tian An Men Square on May 13 to demand a dialogue on democratic reforms.

One of the most prominent theater companies in England has found itself under fire for its casting of a classic Chinese play. The Royal Shakespeare Co. in Stratford-upon-Avon is being criticized for casting just three actors of Asian descent in the ensemble cast of "The Orphan of Zhao," one of the most famous plays in Chinese history. The RSC's production, directed by Gregory Doran and adapted by James Fenton, features a multicultural cast of 17 performers. Most of the principal characters -- including the title role -- will be played by non-Asian actors.

Conflicting official news reports Wednesday and early today--some painting a rosy picture of the situation in Beijing, others stressing enforcement of martial law--marked an epic battle for control of China raging through the top leadership, the media and the army. The country's three most influential news organizations--the People's Daily, the New China News Agency and the national television network--carried reports Wednesday describing Beijing as socially stable, with an upsurge of politeness between ordinary citizens.

Of all the offerings in the "New Films From China" series at the Grande 4-Plex (345 S. Figueroa St.), "The Dollmaker" (opening Wednesday) is the most theatrical, its acting verging on the operatic. Yet co-directors Li Wenhua and Du Yu bring to the script Li wrote with Chen Aimin so rich and unified a vision of life that their film creates its own stylized world and catches us up in it. For all its quaint period charm, this world is singularly brutal and precarious.

While the world watched in horror as army troops and tanks brutally suppressed protesters around Beijing's Tian An Men Square on June 4, a similarly violent confrontation took place in this provincial capital, off camera and out of sight to all but a few Western observers. The details may never be fully known, but what is certain is that thousands of Chengdu residents defied authorities by rushing to defend a student-led demonstration from an attack by police, and that some paid with their lives.

Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang will pay an official visit to Pakistan from June 21 to 24, the Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday. Chinese embassy officials said Zhao will arrive at the end of an East European tour.

Finally. In their fourth try, one of the most dazzling pairs teams in history won an Olympic title. And a gold medal didn't go to a Russian pair for the first time since 1960. The Chinese proverb about a journey of a thousand miles beginning with a single step applies perfectly to what happened in the 2010 pairs figure skating final Monday night at the Pacific Coliseum. Shen Xue, 31, and Zhao Hongbo, 36, completed an odyssey that they began as skating partners in 1992.

"Awesome," said 1992 Olympic singles champion Kristi Yamaguchi of the United States. "Unbelievable," said 2002 Olympic pairs champion David Pelletier of Canada. From the start, with Chinese pair Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo first on the ice, to the finish about three hours later, when Germans Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy skated as the last of 20 competing teams, the Olympic pairs skating short program Sunday reached unprecedented levels of brilliance. "It was a fantastic night, there is no other way to put it," Pelletier said.

FIGURE SKATING Chinese team is expected to win in pairs One of the marquee events of the Winter Olympics, figure skating, gets underway with the pairs short program. Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo of China are the gold-medal favorites, with Pang Qing and Yong Jian of China and Alona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany also medal threats. Russians have won the gold in this event every Olympics since 1964. FREESTYLE SKIING Deneen could shine in moguls World champion Patrick Deneen of the U.S. should contend for a men's moguls medal, but the favorite going into the competition is Dale Begg-Smith of Australia.

Olympic pairs competition begins with a bang Sunday. Two-time Olympic bronze medalists Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo are the first team on the ice in the short program. The Chinese, ancient mariners (he is 36, she is 31), have not competed in a major international event since winning the 2007 world title. "To win an Olympic gold medal is a lifelong dream for both of us," Zhao said. They retired for two seasons, got married, then returned at the brilliant level that had made them one of the world's most dynamic pairs since they debuted with a fifth place at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

When two-time U.S. pairs skating champion Rockne Brubaker finds himself with time to kill, he often watches one of the three videos of Chinese pairs skaters Shen Xue and Hongbo Zhao on his iPod. "I do it for inspiration," Brubaker said. "Plus it is pure enjoyment and pleasure to watch them skate." Shen and Zhao decided to give the competitive skating world that pleasure again, making what seemed an improbable comeback for two skaters in their 30s. The two-time Olympic bronze medalists already have given a burst of energy to a discipline lacking in star quality since the collapse of the Russian pairs skating empire after the 2006 Olympics.

Despite the Chinese government's intent to keep the 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square out of public discourse, audio recordings and excerpts of a memoir by the Communist Party chief who was purged for opposing it have begun circulating quietly on the Internet. Before his death in 2005, Zhao Ziyang secretly recorded 30 hours of tapes that have been turned into a memoir, "Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang."

China has concluded its investigation into the "mistakes" of former Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang, 73, and confirms its decision to dismiss him from his top posts, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Chinese Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang visited a Scottish mining equipment factory and a computer manufacturer today to underscore his nation's interest in stepping up trade with Britain.

Re "In L.A., his own wall of China," Column One, March 1 What Zhao Yan Feng had to put up with in class is awful, and one reason more money alone will not save public schools. Students must want to learn, and their parents must insist that they give school their best efforts. It would be nice for Zhao to transfer to a magnet, charter or private school for a few weeks and see that most students want to learn and (typically) respect their teachers. Larry Goldstein Los Angeles A few weeks after completing Zhao's class, most students will forget what little Mandarin they learned.

Zhao yan feng finally lost his cool minutes before the bell sounded, signaling the end of fourth period. For nearly two hours, his classroom had teetered on the edge of anarchy. Students chatted on their cellphones. They put their feet on their desks. Some had their heads down, sleeping. A clique of girls loudly debated where best to shop for jeans. "I need your cooperation," Zhao pleaded in a clumsy Chinese accent.