Sex educator calls for more control over porn sites

1.A Chinese sex educator is appealing for the introduction of a movie ratings system "to purify" the Isexy internet for the countries' youth.

2."Technically, China could bring in the system to guide our young people," said Zhang Meimei, director of the research center on the sex education at Capital Normal University.

3.She claims some 370 million sexually explicit Web sites on the Internet put the country's 20 million Internet users under the age of 18 at risk.

4.The Internet has spawned numerous pornography sites on the World Wide Web. And porn sites on the Chinese mainland always set up servers outside the country.

5.Zhang, who has studied sex education for 16 years, said Web sites should cater to the needs of juveniles and improve their environment because "it is impossible to block all the unhealthy information on the Internet."

6."Information on these sites plays a key role in crimes involved with sex", she said, adding the prime task is to help young people improve their ability to judge what is right, and to control themselves when reading unhealthy content,"

7.Ministry of Public Security spokesman Wu Heping says as much as 80 percent of juvenile delinquency were caused by juveniles' exposure to sexually explicit Web sites all over the world.

8.China has the second largest Internet users of 144 million, only behind the United States.

9."A large portion of crimes, including rape, racketeering, robbery, and theft, are committed by juveniles addicted to content on pornographic Web sites," said Wu.

10."It is very difficult to inspect and filter sexually explicit sites," explained Kan Kaili, professor of the research institute for the information technology policy and development with the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.

11.Kan said society must intensify the campaign of scrutiny and guidance on young Internet users, and to create a healthy environment for them.

12.China has recently launched a campaign to clean up the Internet. Law enforcement departments found and deleted over 60,000 posts and ordered the closure of more than 2,000 sites.

Spanish Flamenco Closes Arts Festival

1.The one-month long 7th "Meet in Beijing" Arts Festival has drawn to a close. Spanish dances were put on stage at Beijing's Tianqiao Theatre as the grand finale act of the closing ceremony. The festival, which started on May 24, ended last Saturday.

2.The performance given by the Ballet Nacional De Espana (BNE)-who are regarded as ambassadors of Spanish culture-presented Beijing citizens with a sumptuous Spanish feast for the eyes, including a demonstration of world famous flamenco dancing. The Spanish troupe of dancers are already quite popular among the Beijing public. During the final show in particular, the passionate audience was amazed by the superb dance moves, waves of applause rained down on the dancers throughout the night.

3.Three brand new works, Caprichos, Dualis and Cambalache were put on stage during the closing ceremony. They not only presented Chinese audience with traditional compositions of flamenco, but also contemporary styles, with newly integrated elements. The performers were not only dancing, but interpreting each movement with profound understanding, as an extension of themselves.

4.Jose Anonio is the artistic director of the performance. He was formerly a first dancer for the BNE himself-since its foundation in 1978-later becoming its artistic director. He has created a large number of works for the group and won countless awards for his outstanding compositions.

5.The wonderful performance marks the successful completion of the 7th "Meet in Beijing" Art Festival. The festival kicked off on April 28 with a splendid Mongolia musical epic entitled Prairie Legend, performed at the opening ceremony.

6.The "Meet in Beijing" Arts Festival is the continuation of a series of yearly cultural activities, begun in 2001, and organized by the Chinese government. The festival, as a cultural bridge, aims at promoting traditional Chinese culture, and also at introducing the best of foreign performing and visual arts to the Chinese. Each year, the festival has a different theme, this year's was: "Cultural Communication, Creativity Sharing".

7.2007 also happens to be the centennial anniversary of Chinese Drama, and it is the cultural year of "Spain in China". Within this year of rich cultural events, the 7th "Meet in Beijing" Arts Festival has provided a fantastic stage for the dissemination of different cultures, and the sharing of artistic endeavours between China and the world.

Great Wall Among Top 10 Finalists for New 7 Wonders

1.China's Great Wall is currently competing among the top 10 finalists for the title of the "New Seven World Wonders" as voted for by millions of people around the world.

2.It is reported that organizers of the biggest global vote ever announced that more than 45 million people had taken part in the ballot so far in an Internet campaign to choose the seven new wonders of the world from a shortlist of 21 historical constructions.

The voting website is www.n7w.com.

3.According to the most recently published data, on May 7, the top 10 were the Great Wall of China, the Acropolis in Greece, the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza in Mexico, the Coliseum in Rome, the Eiffel tower in Paris, the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu, Petra in Jordan, the statues on Easter Island, Britain's Stonehenge and the Taj Mahal in India.

4.Following the destruction of Afghanistan's giant Buddha statues at Bamyan by the Taliban, a Swiss filmmaker, curator and traveler Bernard Weber decided to set up the "New Seven World Wonders" contest in 2001.

5.The Swiss organizer said the selection of the new list is a great chance for people to review how major world civilizations grow, and to appreciate the world's collective cultural heritage.

6.The New 7 Wonders' panel of experts, chaired by the former Director General of UNESCO, Prof. Dr. Federico Mayor, short-listed nominations with the most votes received at the end of 2005, narrowing the list down to 21 finalists in 2006.

7.The original "Seven World Wonders of the World", made by the Greek philosopher Philon 2200 years ago, included the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia and the Colossus of Rhodes, along with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in modern-day Iraq, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in modern-day Turkey and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.

8.The final results will be officially announced on July 7 of this year in Portugal's capital city, Lisbon.