Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Flying Scotsman Depicted in Chariots of Fire

400米弯道上始终保持领先
He is an Olympic race gold medalist? Yes. He is a preacher who spreads the gospel? Yes. He is a prisoner of a Shandong concentration camp set up by the Japanese? Yes. He is a Christian extending love of Christ to surrounding patients, children and even the enemies?  Certainly he is. Who is he? He is the one hailed as "the Flying Scotsman"- Eric Liddell!

In July 1924, when the Olympic Games has finally arrived, Liddell and his teammates arrived in Paris, France. As the British 100-meter sprint champion, he gave up a row in Sunday's 100-meter race. Friday is the 400-meter race. That day there were six contestants. Liddell was placed in the outermost runway, which was very detrimental to him as he could not see the situation at the starting line of the other five opponents, but he was not worried becuase all he would do was to mainly do his best to run for the God. Liddell reach first at the finish line, and he won the race. He not only obtained the 400 meters gold medal, but also broke the world's record at 47.6 seconds!

On July 18, 1925, Eric came to his birthplace China to teach at the New School of Commerce in Tianjin, and to participate in the ministry of Christian UCO Hall. Ordained in Scotland in 1932, he returned to China to continue his teaching. In 1936 China first organized a team to compete at the Berlin Olimpic Games, and Eric was invited to be the head coach. The war burned more intensely, and in March 1943 the Japanese forced those foreigners of opposing countries in Tianjin to a concentration camp in Weihsien of Shangdong. At the concentration camp, he was responsible for the kitchen's 500 people three meals a day, act as a science teacher for the students, playground coach for the youths and evening entertainment program instructor, as well as a chapel speaker. When the opportunity for an exchange of prisoners came, Eric Liddell swapped his place with a pregnant woman (see Peter "Blog of Light and Salt"). On February 21, 1945, when he was talking with others about how to completely yield to God, Eric cramped and suddenly lost his consciousness, and died at 9 that evening. Later it was confirmed that he died of brain tumor.

His life was put in a movie Chariots of Fire in 1981, which won four Oscar prizes and an Academy Award for Best Original Score.

苏格兰飞人— 埃里克·利德尔

(Eric Liddell, 1902-1945)

他是一名奥林匹克赛跑金牌得主吗? 是的。他是一名传扬福音的传道人吗? 是的。他是一名被日本人关进中国山东集中营的囚犯吗? 是的。他是一名以基督的爱来爱周围病患、孩童甚至敌人的基督徒吗? 他肯定是。他是谁呢? 他就是被喻为“苏格兰飞人”(The Flying Scotsman) 的埃里克·利德尔!

1924年7月, 奥林匹克运动会终于来临,利德尔与队友抵达法国的巴黎。作为英国100米短跑冠军,他放弃了排在主日的100米赛跑。星期五是400米赛跑。当天, 有6位参赛者. 利德尔被安排在最外面的跑道, 这对他非常不利, 因为他无法看到其他5位对手在起跑时的情况. 但他并不担心. 他所要做的, 就是为主尽全力地跑. 赛跑中利德尔抢先到达终点! 他获胜了! 他不单获得400米金牌, 还以47.6秒打破了世界记录!

一九二五年七月十八日,李岱尔来到他的出生地中国,在天津新学书院任教,并参与基督教合众会堂的事奉。一九三二年在苏格兰按立为牧师,然后他回中国继续任教。1936年柏林奥运会中国首次组团参加,聘请了李爱锐做总教官。战火越烧越烈,1943年3月日本人又强迫这些外国人到山东潍县的集中营。集中营里,他负责厨房500人的一日三餐,做學生們的科學教員,操場上的教練,青年人行為和晚上消遣节目的导师,以及礼拜堂里的讲员。当交换犯人的机会来临的时候,艾瑞克·里德尔毅然把本来可以交换出集中营的机会,让给了一位孕妇(参见Peter“光和盐的博客”)。一九四五年二月二十一日,李岱尔和人正在谈完全降伏上帝时,突然抽筋失去知觉,晚上九点多便过世了,后来证实死于脑瘤。

他的一生被编入1981年电影《烈火战车》,并获得4项奥斯卡奖和英国电影学院最佳影片奖。

Monday, February 25, 2013

China Beats out Britain as Canada's 2nd Trade Partner

China beats out Britain as Canada’s No. 2 trade partner (Abridged)

BARRIE McKENNA AND RICHARD BLACKWELL

OTTAWA and TORONTO — The Globe and Mail

Published Wednesday, Feb. 20 2013, 7:00 PM EST

Last updated Thursday, Feb. 21 2013, 8:36 AM EST


The Chinese Ministry of Lands and Resources booth at the 2012 PDAC (Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada) conference in Toronto. (Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail)

China has surpassed Britain as Canada’s No. 2 export destination, a milestone in the inevitable shift from the stagnant Old World to faster-growing emerging markets. Canadian goods exports to China surged 15 per cent last year to $19.3 billion, paced by a near-doubling of canola seed and canola oil shipments, according to newly tabulated government trade figures.


It’s a case of “China meets Saskatchewan,” Dan Ciuriak, former deputy chief economist at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, said of the numbers showing China topping Britain for the first time. Exports to Britain fell nearly 1 per cent to $18.6-billion.



Canada isn’t alone in being touched by China, which surpassed the United States as the world’s largest goods trading nation in 2012. The U.S. still does more overall trade if services are included. Canada’s exports to China have nearly doubled between 2008 and 2012, a period in which the country’s overall exports fell nearly 1 per cent. Canadian exports to China of bulk commodities such as coal and iron ore were also up sharply last year. China’s economy has been growing at 10 per cent a year for most of the past decade and is hungry for the resources that Canada has in abundance. Europe, on the other hand, has been stagnant for the past four years, with some countries in a deep recession.



China is particularly attractive for firms that sell high-technology products and services because the country is going through a massive shift from a rural-based economy to an urban one. China looks favorably on Canada as a supplier because of its reputation for innovative and creative technology, the multicultural nature of its work force, its lack of political “baggage,” and – still – the fact that Dr. Norman Bethune was Canadian. But getting a foothold in the Chinese market takes time and patience. Once that trust is established, a company can move “incredibly fast.” Canada has a large tech sector, with exports of nearly $30-billion a year worth of information technology, but relatively little of it goes to China.



There is a huge market for luxury goods in China, and even small Canadian companies can do well if they can focus on “super premium” products, Mr. Slingerland said. Indeed, Pillitteri went to China after it noticed that Chinese customers were the biggest buyers of premium products at its Canadian retail outlets.



There are still many hurdles in China, Mr. Slingerland pointed out, including counterfeit products, something his company had to deal with. It is also crucial to do thorough due diligence about customers when they are half way around the world, he said. Canada’s trade with China is destined to increase both because the country is growing so fast and because the countries’ main products complement each other and they are very natural trading partners.



中国击败英国成为加拿大第2大贸易伙伴(节选)