Industrial production in Taiwan increases in May 2011

From http://www.moea.gov.tw/Mns/english/news/News.aspx?kind=6&menu_id=176&news_id=21915 (in English)

The Department of Statistics of the Republic of China (Taiwan) government has released information about the evolution of the industrial production in May 2011, which has had an increase of 7.82% year-on-year. The production of manufacturing industry increased by 7.72%, mining & quarrying decreased by 3.15%, electricity & gas supply decreased by 0.73%, water supply decreased by 1.48%, and the construction of buildings increased by an impressive 40.99%.

Recent business indicators in Taiwan

From http://www.cepd.gov.tw/encontent/m1.aspx?sNo=0015449 (April 2011) and http://www.cepd.gov.tw/encontent/m1.aspx?sNo=0015565 (May 2011) (both in English)

The Taiwanese Council for Economic Planning and Development has released the information on the economic indicators corresponding to April and May 2011, which can be found on the link above. These indicators kept on showing an steady growth on Taiwan economy.

 

ACC1Ó promotes Green Building mission in Singapore

From http://agenda.acc10.cat/agenda/default.php?id=6416 (in Catalan)

ACC1Ó-Competitiveness for Catalonia is organizing a Green Building mission in Singapore for Catalan companies due next September. Singapore is currently promoting architecture, design and construction of buildings which are energetically efficient, the so called Green Buildings. The goal of the government is that by 2030 at least 80% of the buildings in Singapore, both new and existing, could be certified as Green Building, a strategy that is aimed at leading this activity in the Asia-Pacific area. The specific goals of the mission are: i) to do networking with potential local partners in order to know the reality and the opportunities of the local market; ii) to hold meetings with relevant institutions, such as the Building & Construction Authority, the Singapore Green Building Council, the Singapore Institute of Architects and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, among others; and iii) to attend the BEX Asia trade fair (14-16 September 2011).

Catalan exports grow by 16% until April

From http://www.expansion.com/2011/06/23/catalunya/1308855593.html (in Spanish)

Exports keep on growing and are currently leading Catalan economy. Between January and April foreign sales increased by 16.33% as compared with the same period in 2010 and reached 17,559 million euros. Data for overall Spain showed an increase by 22.19%. During this period, the most dynamic industrial sectors were chemical, equipment and automotive, which represented 59% of total sales and that they all had two-digit increases. Exports to the countries of European Union represented 67% of the total and those to Asia grew by 12%.

Video summary of Casa Asia Film Week in Barcelona

From http://www.casaasia.es/internet_y_tecnologia/multimedia?video_id=14660 (in Spanish)

Casa Asia has posted an 8-minute video that summarizes the highlights of the first edition of the Casa Asia Film Week that was held in Barcelona between June 6 and 12th, 2011. The video starts with the opening ceremony, is followed by the tribute to Ann Hui and the award ceremony to Buddha Mountain, directed by Li Yu, and ends up with the closing ceremony. Main languages in the video are Spanish and Catalan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1rKns1w9Mw

Catalan economy follows the growth trend in early 2011

From http://premsa.gencat.cat/pres_fsvp/AppJava/notapremsavw/detall.do?id=113967 (in Catalan)

According to an official release of the Catalan government, economy in Catalonia has grown 1.1% year-on-year during the first trimester of 2011. This modest growth has been led by exports, which have grown 1.7% year-on-year. However, if compared with the previous trimester, growth has been nil (0.0%), which may indicate a recent trend to stagnancy after some recovery signs in the previous trimesters. Economy in overall Spain has grown 0.8% year-on-year during the first trimester of 2011, whereas in the European Union growth has reached 2.5% in the same period.

Cafe Networking in Barcelona: Exploring East Asian markets for textile industry

From http://agenda.acc10.cat/agenda/default.php?id=6317 (in Catalan)

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Cafè Networking (image from L'Anella website)"][/caption]

On Tuesday July 5th, 2011, ACC1Ó-Competitiveness for Catalonia is organizing a 2-hour meeting in Barcelona in order to facilitate productive networking between businessmen and entrepreneurs in the textile and fashion industries that are either interested in internationalizing their products and/or services, or that are already established and doing business in China and India. The goals of this session are: i) to detect opportunities for collaboration, i.e., for joint export;  ii) to exchange information and experiences about the strategies to enter these markets; iii) to identify synergies with competitors for project cooperation; iv) to meet potential partners, suppliers and clients; and v) to discover business opportunities in these sectors and markets.

The session will start with the presentation of a list of good business practices by a representative of the Catalan textile company Punto Blanco, by David Garcia, head of the Platform for Production and Sale promoted by ACC1Ó in Hong Kong, and an expert on East Asian markets from ACC1Ó. Right after these presentations, there will be the speed meeting session, which consists of 5-minute meetings between professionals, to finish with an open networking session during the coffee break.

ICEX promotes 14 Spanish companies in Singapore's BroadcastAsia

From http://www.icex.es/icex/cda/controller/pageICEX/0,6558,5518394_5519005_6366453_4496959,00.html (in Spanish)

From June 21st to 24th, 2011, Singapore will simultaneously host BroadcastAsia and CommunicAsia, two of the world leading trade fairs devoted to the broadcasting and communication sectors. The Multisectoral Association of Companies of Electronics and Information and Communication Technologies (AMETIC) , together with the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade (ICEX) are jointly promoting a 200 m2 pavillion for the 14 Spanish companies attending the event. BroadcastAsia will showcase a wide variety of broadcasting products, including satellite and cable, as well as high definition and multimedia products, whereas CommunicAsia, will offer a global platform for the display of the latest digital technology related to telecommunications and information technologies. A summary of these events, including contact information, can be downloaded at a specific ICEX page.

China's consumer price index grows by 5.5 per cent in May 2011

From http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-06/14/c_13928164.htm (in English)

China's consumer price index (CPI) rose to its highest level in the last 34 months, reaching a 5.5% growth year-on-year. In the first five months of 2011, the CPI has grown by 5.2% year-on-year. These already high inflation rates are expected to even rise a little bit above 6% in June, according to experts. Food prices, which account for almost one third of the basket of goods for the calculation of CPI, increased by 11.7% in May from a year earlier, whereas the growth of non-food prices also increased by 2.9% in the same period.

Bizbarcelona, new trade fair for entrepreneurs

From http://www.catalannewsagency.com/news/business/bizbarcelona-opens-its-doors-international-entrepreneurs (in English)

On June 15th and 16th, 2011, Fira de Barcelona has held the first Bizbarcelona trade fair, devoted to entrepreneurs and to what they need in order to create businesses and/or make them grow. Some 12,000 attendants are expected, which are likely to find innovative solutions, inspiration, support, advice and financing. Bizbarcelona is promoted by the Barcelona City Council, the Catalan government, La Caixa, Diputació de Barcelona, Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the State's Financial Agency of Spain, and is sponsored by the Zona Franca Consortium and Google.

6th edition of the Spain China Forum in Barcelona

From http://chinaclubspain.blogspot.com/2011/06/vi-edicion-de-foro-espana-china.html (in Spanish)

On July 5th and 6th, 2011, the Barcelona World Trade Center will host the 6th edition of the Spain China Forum. It will have three Plenary Sessions that will be aimed at promoting economic relationships between the two countries. The Forum will be presided by the two co-Presidents: Mr. Pedro Solbes (Spain) and Mrs. Uyunqing (China).

Buddha Mountain awarded as best film in Casa Asia Film Week 2011

From http://www.casaasia.es/noticia/detalle?id=20Barcelona2585 (in Spanish)

Buddha Mountain, directed by Li Yu, has been awarded as the best film of the official section of the Casa Asia Film Week that has been held in Barcelona between June 6th and 12th, 2011. Of the 30 movies on display, 11 competed in the official section and were evaluated by a jury composed by Isaac Monclús (cultural promoter), Rubén Lardín (film critic and writer), Eulàlia Iglesias (film critic and professor at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili), Ángela Martínez (Head of the Audiovisual and Multimedia Section at the Contemporary Culture Center of Barcelona) and Manel Ollé (professor of East Asian Cinema in the Degree of East Asian Studies jointly organized by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra). According to the official press release, the jury of the festival chose Buddha Mountain as the winner of the 2011 edition for the following reasons: for the capacity of the director Li to express the feelings of the contemporary Chinese youth; for being able to produce a lively piece of cinema without falling into lecturing excesses; and for being able to portrait a series of characters from different generations that are trying to find their own ways in a country in constant transformation. Buddha Mountain is a 135-minute drama filmed in Chengdu, capital of the Sichuan province, whose principal actors are Sylvia Chang, Fan Bingbing, Chen Po Lin, Fei Long, Jin Jing, Fang Li and Bao Zhenjiang.

The whole movie, divided in 8 parts, can be watched at http://www.dramastyle.com/movie/Buddha-Mountain-Film-2010/

Interview to Director of Confucius Institute of Barcelona Minkang Zhou

From http://www.segre.com/detall-de-la-noticia/article/el-xines-es-percep-com-a-sortida-professional/ (in Catalan)

Minkang Zhou, Director of the Foundation of the Confucius Institute of Barcelona, has been interviewed by the newspaper Segre after his conference at the Institut d'Estudis Ilerdencs in Lleida on the Chinese studies around the world.

He explained that in the last few years Chinese government has realized that Chinese culture and language are largely unknown in the rest of the world and that's the reason why they are investing on the creation of institutes around the world where they can be learned. He also stated that China is a very ancient civilization and this could be of interest for many people. He also mentioned that the development of the last 30 years has created an increasing gap between rich and poor peoples and also has given more freedom to Chinese people. Because of this, they are migrating both from rural areas to the large cities, but aso migrating to other areas of the world, like Catalonia, which is also receiving an increasing number of Chinese tourists. And finally he mentioned that in Catalonia there is an increasing number of people who are studying Chinese language, which is seen by the growth of the number of people who take the examinations.

Plan for ambitious promotion of Spanish food products in East Asian countries

From http://www.icex.es/icex/cda/controller/pageICEX/0,6558,5518394_5519005_6366453_4495904,00.html (in Spanish)

The Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade (ICEX) and the Spanish Federation of Food & Drinks Industries (FIAB) have reached an agreement to spend half a million euros for the promotion of Spanish food products in China and India for one year. The first actions under this agreement were the pavillions arranged at the Hofex 2011 Food and Hospitality Tradeshow that was held in Hong Kong on May 11th-14th, at the Sial 2011 fair that was held in Shanghai on May 18th-20th and at the Top Wine China that was held in Beijing from May 24th-26th, but new actions are under planning. These future goals are the attendance to the Indonesia Food & Hotel Expo 2011 that will take place in the city of Bandung from November 25th-27th; to the 21st Taipei International Food Show that will take place in Taiwan's capital from June 22nd-25th, 2011; to the next edition of Top Wine China that will take place from June 4th-6th, 2012; and to Interwine, the 7th International Wine & Spirits Exhibition that since 2005 is organized in Guangzhou and that will take place from November 8th-10th, 2011.

Sinalunya Interviews: Huei Chiang (江蕙)

[caption id="attachment_705" align="alignleft" width="199" caption="Black & White portrait of Huei Chiang (by courtesy of the artist)"][/caption]

When someone would go to a concert of the Empordà Chamber Orchestra, he or she would possibly be surprised to discover that the first violinist and assistant concertmaster is a young lady from East Asian origin. Her name is Huei Chiang (江蕙) and she was born in Taipei in 1980. She is also a talented writer, her other huge passion besides music. She has been living in Catalonia since 1999, when she accepted such a position in the Empordà Chamber Orchestra. As a Taiwanese native but also a long time resident in Catalonia, she has the perfect profile to analyze both societies and how globalization is getting them to be closer every passing day. Sinalunya has approached her with this purpose and we thank her for taking the time to answer these questions.

Q: You have been living in Catalonia for more than 10 years now. What is your perception of the Catalan society? How was integration in such a different society for a young Taiwanese lady? And what was the reaction of the local people?

R: It’s a tricky question! I wouldn’t say that in general the Catalan people are open to foreigners; people are nice and friendly in this region, but it doesn’t mean that they would try to make you “feel like home” in this country. From my part, in my fifth year in Catalonia, I thought that it was time for me to learn some Catalan, I wanted to feel more integrated, so I took Catalan classes. Some people were really impressed by an Asian girl that “tried to speak Catalan” and they were happy to answer me in Catalan as well, but some others just kept on speaking Spanish to me, like it didn’t matter to them… People are hard to please!!! (Joke)

Then I realized that speaking the local language is not the main thing which makes you feel being a part of a society, it helps, but what’s really important is if we “want” to understand and communicate with each other! Here I’ve seen the worst and the best qualities of people; I have some very good Catalan friends, and I don’t think that they would like me any less if we speak Spanish to each other!

Q: You were hired as first violinist and you were only 19 years old at that time. Were your fellow colleagues with the orchestra surprised to have you there? How was their acceptance? And what has been the evolution of your role there?

R: I don’t really know what they thought of me during that time! Maybe too young to be working?! But I was a good player then, and they were my first friends in this country!

What I’ve been doing in the past 11 years is to take as much advantage as I can from this work: I love playing as a soloist and I’m very fortunate to have many chances to be accompanied by my own orchestra. They are my colleagues who support me, and I’ve learned so much by being on the stage as a soloist -controlling one’s nerves and mental state, building up one’s presence and self confidence...

When I first entered the orchestra, I was a first violin tutti and then became the assistant concertmaster (the second chair in the first violin group), which means sometimes that I also do the concertmaster’s work while he is on leave. Being in that chair is a challenge, because then you really feel the responsibility right on your shoulders -how can you make your group sound better together? And be 100 % sure for your orchestra because they rely on you. All together it has been a good training for my personal growth.

Q: Catalonia has always been an open nation that has looked beyond its borders, but now nearest markets are becoming difficult and East Asian ones can play an important role in getting out of the crisis. What would you recommend to Catalan entrepreneurs and businessmen if they had to go to Taiwan in order to deal with Taiwanese people and culture?

R: Taiwanese people are fascinated by foreign cultures. They used to be very American influenced, and then both the Japanese culture and the Korean cultures have also played quite an important role in the recent past. In the last 15 years, every time when I get back home I’m so amazed to see how international the place has become. In big cities you’ll find European cafes, restaurants even better decorated than here, and getting good Italian, French or even Spanish food is no rarity. As Taiwanese are open to things coming from the outside, people like to change their taste every now and then (the speed of fashion is much quicker there), basically nothing stays the same for more than 2-4 months, and people would have to keep renovating, reinventing their products in order to catch the public’s attention. Catalan people are very smart in relation to economy, what I would suggest is to understand Taiwanese people’s tendencies and needs: healthy products such as olive oil and grape seed oil, they also appreciate wine, cheese (in the supermarket you can get all kinds of cheese, possibly more varieties even than here!). As for dealing with businessmen there, I really have no idea, because there are all kinds of people! Some people can be direct and honest, some can be “never reject you” in front of your face, but they wouldn’t do what they’ve promised, but they will always be friendly and polite with you.

Q: Talking about Taiwan, is there something from there that you are terribly missing here? And what would you take with you from Catalonia if you would move back to your native country?

R: I think all Taiwanese people would say the same thing: FOOD!!! The food is wonderful there. I also miss the people who I love (family and friends) and all the traditional Chinese holidays -by doing the celebration you really notice that the people have great respect towards our ancestors, our gods and ghosts. We treat the spirits, the unknown, with respect and indirectly that makes the place full of warmth. Every Chinese holiday has an interesting, sometimes even romantic story behind it. Unlike the western holidays, Chinese holidays have very little to do with religion but more with seasons and mythology.

Another thing I miss are the bookstores in Taiwan, you will only see this there: Every bookstore is like a library, there are tables and chairs around, you can choose any book you want, sit down and spend the whole afternoon reading it till you finish, no one will even come and ask you to buy the book! That’s what we think “normal” in bookstores, and the stores are always full of people and quite! The result is that people always buy books as well, but then you can really choose something you must have rather than buying some books you are not quite sure about.

And what would I bring from Catalonia, food wise? As for presents I often bring torrons, pimientos de Padrón, polvorones… but if I do move back to my country, it would be my whole living experience! My professional experience in playing and Yoga! I learned Yoga in Catalonia, and I am also a trained Yoga teacher.

Q: Are there any cultural interactions between Taiwan and Catalonia that you are aware of? Do you think that it is something to be explored? Any ideas?

R: I don’t think there is such an exchange between these two places, a lot of Asian people still haven’t heard of “Catalonia”, they know the city of Barcelona, and artists such as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí, the football team FC Barcelona...  Of course there are things to be explored such as art and gastronomy.

Q: What are your highlights of your life and career here? And what are your projects for the near future?

R: What a question! I didn’t win any special “gold medal” to have golden lights shining all over me! I’m a violinist and I enjoy playing, when I do a good performance and feel the audience responds to me, this makes me complete, these are the moments I appreciate in life.

As for my projects- I have something that I have to keep secret yet, because I want to be one of the first people who present such a thing in the world. When I get it finally planned and settled, I’ll be glad to publish the news on the site!!! (Carl Jung talked about the collective unconsciousness, so I may not be the first one in the world who has had this idea).

Q: Finally, please let us know a little bit more about yourself by telling us your tastes:

A book: About Love and Solitude by Krishnamurti

A movie: The Shawshank Redemption

An actor or actress: Audrey Hepburn

A song or musical piece: Bach - Ciaccona

A performer: Billie Holiday

A composer: Franz Schubert

A landscape: L’Empordà

A dish from Taiwanese cuisine: Everything!

A dish from Catalan cuisine: Arròs negre (black rice), Fideuà, Cargols (snails)

A wish: To experience and live every moment

The above questions are too difficult to just answer one, especially about music and musicians; there are so many things which I love, so many composers and performers… So when I name one, it means- Everyone, Everything!

Finally, let's enjoy the incredibly talented Huei Chiang on violin together with the Orquestra de Cambra de l'Empordà, conducted by Carles Coll, playing the Faust Fantasy op.13 by P. Sarasate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0ok7vINQRE

Casa Asia Film Week starts in Barcelona

From http://www.casaasiafilmweek.es/ (in Spanish)

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Reign of Assassins (courtesy of Casa Asia Film Week)"][/caption]

Between June 6 and 12th, 2011, the Casa Asia Film Week (CAFW) will take place in Barcelona, as a new festival devoted to the highlight the best cinematographic activity in Asia. Casa Asia Film Week replaces the previous Barcelona Asian Film Festival (BAFF) that disappeared in 2010. The 30 films will be displayed at the Cinemes Girona and they will cover different subjects, from science-fiction to martial arts or Bollywood. Two renowned chinese female directors, Ann Hui and Hu Mei, will have their movies on display and will also visit the festival. The best film in the Official Section will receive the Honorific Award of the Casa Asia Film Week. The complete official dossier of the festival, with detailed information about it and about the movies on display can be downloaded as a pdf file from Casa Asia website. You can also watch the Official Trailer Casa Asia Film Week 2011.

Priorat wines get interest from East Asian buyers and journalists

From http://www.catalannewsagency.com/news/life-style/priorat-wine-showcased-40-international-distributors-and-20-foreign-specialised-jour (in English)

The beautiful village of Torroja del Priorat and the Carthusian Monastery of Santa Maria d'Escaladei held a 2-day workshop organized by 45 cellars and devoted to the promotion of the renowned Priorat wines. Attendants to the workshop were 40 international buyers and wine distributors, joined by 20 specialised journalists, that came from China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, United States of America, Switzerland and Vietnam, where the demand of wine is on the rise and where Catalan wines are not well known.

 

6,199 less unemployed people in Catalonia in May 2011

From http://www.catalannewsagency.com/news/business/unemployment-catalonia-drops-6199-may (in English)

Unemployment rate in Catalonia decreased by 1.03% in May, which represented 6,199 less jobless people as compared to April. Despite the good news, total number of unemployed people (595,342) is still greater than in May 2010 (574,736), which means that unemployment has increased by 3.59% during the last year. Of those 6,199 new jobs, 2,159 were created in the services sector, 1,906 in the industrial sector, 1,258 in the construction sector and 779 in the agricultural sector. Regarding the four provinces, Lleida led the decrease, followed by Girona, Barcelona and Tarragona. In overall Spain jobless amounted 4,189,659 people, 79,701 less than one month earlier, but still greater than the figure of May 2010.

 

Sinalunya Interviews: Dídac Lee

(This is the first of the own Sinalunya interviews to people that, for different reasons, are representative of the leitmotif of this blog, which is the economic, social and cultural relationships between Chinese cultural countries and Catalunya)

[caption id="attachment_673" align="alignleft" width="224" caption="Dídac Lee at Award Ceremony of the Barcelona Digital Congress"][/caption]

With the growing internationalization of Catalan economy, companies are aiming more and more at East Asian markets in search for an increase in sales. Economic crisis in Spain and globalization of economy are bridging the gap between worlds that until recently were far apart. Because of his unique familiar upbringing, Dídac Lee (Figueres, 1974), born in Catalonia from Taiwanese parents, may be one of the key figures to analyze what Catalan (and Spanish) companies may expect when doing business in Chinese cultural countries and viceversa. Sinalunya has approached him with this purpose and we thank him for taking the time to answer these questions.

Q: Catalonia, as well as the rest of Spain, is immersed in a serious economic crisis, but at the same time many companies are taking bold decisions in terms of internationalizing their products and services. What is your perception of the present moment of Catalan economy and what the near future may be?

R: Obviously we are in times of economic trouble for both Catalan and global economy. However, I am convinced that the values ​​that belong to our culture, such as effort, ability to work and sacrifice, and creative spirit will be the key to succeed. These are values ​​that belong to the traditional life style of the Catalan people and which reappear in times of crisis.

Q: Which are the things would you change in order to favor entrepreneur people and the creation of new companies and jobs? What is lacking?

R: Although the situation has lately improved and entrepreneurs now have more support than a few years ago, in my humble opinion I think that there are mainly two aspects to improve: i) the need for a more flexible and agile fiscal framework to reduce uncertainties for both entrepreneurs and investors; and ii) the need to dignify the culture of the entrepreneurship, because the references that we have are usually the opposite. For instance, in the most-watched Catalan TV soap opera Ventedelplà, the entrepreneur is the bad guy!

Q: Talking about your success, do you think that the Taiwanese culture of your family had some positive influence that you perceived as lacking on the average Catalan entrepreneur?

R: First of all, the Taiwanese culture of my familiar background has influenced me on everything related to the sense of entrepreneurship and dedicated work. It has also taught me a deep respect for people, to be thoughtful, and to treasure honor and ethics. These values are not exclusive of the eastern mentality, but they are most inherent to it. In fact, they are also part of the Catalan culture, so I have received similar influences from both cultures.

Q: Regarding the way that Catalan people are usually perceived (hard-working, wise, business-oriented), what do you think their chances can be in East Asian markets?

R: I have no doubt that Catalonia has a chance in East Asian markets, but everything will finally depend on the mentality of the companies. What is certain is that we have increasingly global technologies that allow us an easier access to those Asian markets. Because of my personal experience, I can talk about examples like the FC Barcelona, Zyncro or Spamina.

Q: Some of the genuine Catalan creativity (i.e., Antoni Gaudí, Salvador Dalí) is highly appreciated in East Asian countries. What do you think the reason may be? Can it be of help for Catalan companies too?

R: I don't know what are the factors that have an influence on Catalan creativity. What is certain is that we usually have a good reputation all over the world.

Q: In reverse, do you think that Chinese people and their companies can find themselves comfortable if they decide to increase their commercial activity in Catalonia?

R: Our impression about them is that they are hard working people, with a great drive and a desire to undertake their own projects. So far, these are mainly small businesses, but in the future they could represent an opportunity for medium and large Chinese companies to settle here. However, I believe that most companies in China probably have other priorities before considering to establish in Catalonia. Still, our own challenge is to become a priority investment area for Chinese companies and to become the gateway to the rest of Spain and Latin America.

Q: Talking about your companies, what are the main projects you are working on now? Any specific goals you would like to achieve in the near future?

R: We are currently working on cloud-based products and technological innovation as a common denominator. Matrix or Zyncro, for example, are some of our companies which are taking global growth. Zyncro is a Corporate Social Network that is changing the way in which organizations communicate. Within a year we have achieved more than 100,000 users and we have a presence in 6 countries (Spain, Brazil, Japan, Argentina, United States and Perú). Other companies already established in our group Inspirit, such as Spamina, are carrying out their plans for international expansion.

Q: You are also a big FC Barcelona fan and recently you have become member of its governing board. What did Barça represent for a young kid of Taiwanese origin and how did you get involved in Sandro Rosell’s team? What are your current tasks and goals in FC Barcelona?

R: I met Sandro Rosell through mutual friends. I began to collaborate on the Club's Social Media and a few years later I had the honour to be proposed as a part of his bid for the presidency. As Director of the Technology Area (New Technologies), my goal is to help to increase club revenue through e-marketing, e-commerce and mobile services. I would also bring the club closer to its members, listening to their proposals, helping them make inquiries... In short, to make the dialogue between the members and the board of directors easier. And, finally, another important aim is to show the excellent work undertaken by the FC Barcelona Foundation, which today is still largely unknown. The FC Barcelona holds an important set of values​​, it is not just about football or sports, and these are the values to be promoted among children and young people, like responsibility, respect and team spirit, among many others.

Q: You have also been responsible for the recent rugby game of USAP Perpinyà in Barcelona, which has attracted Catalan people from both sides of the border to the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium. Do you realize that you are also contributing to bring Catalan people closer again? How do you feel about the response that the match got (fans, media)? Will there be other USAP games in the future in southern Catalonia?

R: In fact, I was just one of the people responsible for the event, helping Ramón Cierco. I must admit that, at first, I did not even know the game but what I really understood is that game represented the union between Southern Catalonia and Northern Catalonia, and for me it was an honour to contribute to make it happen. We wish this is just the first step of a long-lasting collaboration.

Q: Finally, please let us know a little bit more about yourself by telling us your tastes:

A book: Good luck, by Àlex Rovira

A movie: Jerry Maguire

An actor or actress: Wesley Snipes

A song: The Sea (Morcheeba)

A musical performer: The Prodigy

A landscape: L'Empordà

A dish: Big Mac

A football player: Iniesta

A wish: To end hunger in the world

[caption id="attachment_675" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Dídac Lee in a FC Barcelona's football kit"][/caption]

6,000 Chinese travel agents will learn about tourism in Catalonia

From http://comunicatur.info/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1665&Itemid=1 (in Catalan)

The Guangzhou University and the Catalan Toursim Agency (ACT, Agència Catalana de Turisme) have prepared an online course aimed at teaching Chinese travel agents about Catalonia and its touristic resources. This course will be followed by 6,000 professional travel agents of Hong Kong and of the Guangdong province in July and October 2011 and it will consist of 21 units prepared by both Catalan and Chinese professors at the Guangzhou University. According to the Catalan government, this is a pioneer initiative in the Chinese market and if it turns to be successful it could be later applied to other Chinese provinces or to other Asian countries. China has become one of the most important touristic sources in the world and in Catalonia alone it has grown by a 40% in the last 5 years. The city of Barcelona was the main destination of the 65,000 Chinese tourists that came to Catalonia in 2010.