Month: September 2019

HONG KONG – Chow Hiu-tung was brutally beaten up by radical anti-government protesters after telling them off for their disgraceful conduct on Sept 15. With his eyes still swollen, the 49-year-old, who had won unexpected fame on the internet after a video of the violent scene went viral, told reporters on Monday he has no regrets for what he said that day.

Several bruises on his body still serve as stark reminders of the bloody skirmishes. Chow has been discharged from hospital, but he lost three teeth in the attack.

It was about 4:50 pm, on Sept 15, and Chow had just finished work when he walked past a crowd of people protesting against the now-withdrawn extradition bill.

Recalling what happened near the crossroads of busy Gloucester Road and Marsh Road in Wan Chai, Chow said he saw some radical protesters marching along the street and waving national flags of the United States and Japan. Furious, Chow rebuked the protesters and shouted: “Love China! I am Chinese!”

For Chow, demonstrators waving Japan’s national flag were particularly jarring to the eye. He said they clearly lack basic knowledge of the humiliating history of the nation and the city at the hands of the Japanese . “Have they ever heard about the nation’s shame? Do they know Japan once occupied Hong Kong for three years and eight months?” Chow still can’t help feeling anger.

However, some radical protesters approached him after hearing his comments. A video on the internet shows dozens of masked and black-clad rioters attacking Chow and assaulting him for over 30 seconds. Some tried to cover up the ugly scene with umbrellas.

Later the unconscious Chow, whose nose and mouth were bleeding, was hospitalized in critical condition. Online speculation at one point claimed he had died in hospital.

Chow said he would express his views again in a similar situation. But he admits this is a nerve-wracking prospect: “I will check whether I am alone or have companions – as these rioters are too violent.”

Chow strongly condemned the violence, noting that these radicals had committed serious crimes and violated the rule of law.

On Monday, representatives from various sectors visited Chow. Ngan Chun-lim, a member of Hong Kong’s Eastern District Council, said Chow’s bravery was admirable.

Aron Kwok Wai-keung, a lawmaker and member of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, said the incident was a wake-up call. It showed that violent acts by radical protesters had strayed far from the “freedom” and “democracy” they claim they are protesting for.

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In an exclusive interview with China Daily in Beijing, Solomon Islands’ Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade Jeremiah Manele rebutted claims made on Sunday that Beijing was using “dollar diplomacy” to manipulate his country into breaking ties with Taiwan. He said such claims “are not true” and his country’s decisions on sovereignty “cannot be bought”.

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Chinese violinist Huang Bin will give a recital at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing on Oct 13, featuring Beethoven’s Sonata for Piano and Violin, Op. 47; Edvard Grieg’s Sonata for Piano and Violin No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 45 and César Franck’s Sonata for Piano and Violin in A Major.

On Sept 18, the violinist gave a recital at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, playing 24 Caprices for solo violin by Niccolò Paganini.

Huang, who won both the Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy, in 1994 and the Munich International Music Competition in Munich, Germany in 1999, has also appeared at the Marlboro Music Festival, where she performed with members of the Beaux Arts Trio and the Juilliard and Guarneri String Quartets.

In September 2019, a recording by Huang, pianist Zhou Yubo, cellist Alexander Suleiman, entitled An-lun Huang Piano Trio 1&2, won an award at the Opus Klassik 2019, Germany’s premiere classical music awards.

Huang began her violin studies at age four in China, and entered the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing at the age of nine. After graduating from the Middle School Affiliated to the Central Conservatory, she went to the United States to study at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree and Artist Diploma. She received her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at the Eastman School of Music.

She now teaches at the China Conservatory of Music.

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BEIJING – China’s lunar rover Yutu-2, or Jade Rabbit-2, discovered an unidentified substance in an impact crater on the far side of the moon.

The discovery was made during Yutu-2’s ninth lunar day of exploration on the moon, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.

The ground controllers designed a driving route for the rover to allow it to conduct scientific detection to the depth of the impact crater and the distribution of the ejecta, said the center.

“The Yutu-2 rover is expected to bring us more surprises and scientific discoveries,” said the center.

The lander of the Chang’e-4 probe and the Yutu-2 rover have resumed work for the 10th lunar day on the far side of the moon after “sleeping” during the extremely cold lunar night.

The lander woke up at 8:26 pm Monday, and the rover awoke at 8:30 pm Sunday (Beijing Time). Both are in normal working condition, according to the center.

The rover has traveled about 285 meters on the moon to conduct scientific exploration on the virgin territory.

China’s Chang’e-4 probe, launched on Dec 8, 2018, made the first-ever soft landing on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon on Jan 3.

A lunar day equals 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is the same length. The Chang’e-4 probe switched to a dormant mode during the lunar night due to the lack of solar power.

As a result of the tidal locking effect, the moon’s revolution cycle is the same as its rotation cycle, and the same side always faces Earth.

The scientific tasks of the Chang’e-4 mission include low-frequency radio astronomical observation, surveying the terrain and landforms, detecting the mineral composition and shallow lunar surface structure and measuring neutron radiation and neutral atoms.

The Chang’e-4 mission embodies China’s hope to combine human wisdom in space exploration with four payloads developed by the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Saudi Arabia.

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The Gunners boss has said he will pass the armband around this season, but a former star in north London wants to see a Brazilian defender take it

David Luiz is a “serial winner” and “has got to be captain” at Arsenal, says Paul Merson, with Unai Emery’s plan to pass the armband around causing concern.

The Gunners boss has stated in the past that he wants to work with a leadership group at Emirates Stadium, rather than one set skipper.

A number of those considered to be worthy of taking on captaincy duties have since left north London, with the likes of Petr Cech, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal and Aaron Ramsey all moved on.

Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil are considered to still be in contention, along with summer signing Luiz.

Merson believes the Brazilian defender, who has previously tasted Premier League and Champions League glory across two spells at Chelsea, should be appointed on a full-time basis.

The former Arsenal midfielder told Sky Sports: “The worrying thing for me is I heard the manager say he’s going to have five captains, which tells me he has no idea what his team is.

“Unai Emery’s been there a year-and-a-half, he’s got to have five captains because he doesn’t have a clue what his best team is. He hasn’t got a clue.

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“The good teams are the ones who play virtually the same team every week, but with Arsenal you don’t know who it’ll be from week to week.

“David Luiz has got to be captain, he’s a serial winner. People have a go at him because one week he’ll be a 2/10 and the next a 9/10, but he’s going to play every week.

“I’m not the greatest lover of a forward being the captain, but [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang’s another one. Those front three should pick themselves straight away and you go from there – they’ll play every week, if they’re fit.”

Captain candidate Xhaka has faced criticism at times this season, with the Switzerland international seeing his temperament and consistency called into question once again.

Some supporters even took to ironically cheering when the 26-year-old midfielder was replaced during a 3-2 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.

Merson admits he is not the biggest fan of Xhaka, but feels it is wrong for fans to taunt players on a public stage.

He added: “I had a bit of a go at Xhaka the other week, but I don’t like fans booing their players.

“It’s not right and it’s not Arsenal. You’ve got to have a bit more class than that. He’s never stopped trying and even though I had a go at him, you can’t be booing your own players.”

The Liverpool right-back scored in Sunday’s victory over Chelsea to maintain their five-point gap at the top of the Premier League table

Trent Alexander-Arnold says Liverpool must be “as relentless as possible” in order to carry on winning matches.

Jurgen Klopp’s side picked up a 15th consecutive Premier League win with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea on Sunday, extending their unbeaten run in the league to 23 games.

Alexander-Arnold scored the opener from a well-worked free-kick in their latest win, which helped Liverpool maintain their 100 per cent record this season.

A Roberto Firmino header made it 2-0 against Frank Lampard’s outfit, with the away side holding on for all three points after N’Golo Kante had reduced the deficit.

The Reds made it six wins from six to stay five points ahead of champions Manchester City, and Alexander-Arnold believes that their form will only continue if they remain ruthless.

“We are just trying to stay as fit as possible and be as relentless as possible to carry on winning and competing on all fronts,” the right-back told the club’s official website.

“It’s all about the mentality of the team.

“Obviously 15 wins in a row is something to be proud of, but we know we need to keep on going and keep pushing ourselves even further.”

The England international also pointed to the importance of squad depth in maintaining their successful start to the season, with several key fixtures arriving in the coming weeks.

Klopp’s side travel to MK Dons on Wednesday evening in a Carabao Cup tie, before returning to Premier League action with an away fixture at Sheffield United on Saturday.

The Reds then host Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League, with difficult league games against Spurs, Manchester United and Leicester all scheduled for next month.

“We are a strong enough side and we’ve got the squad depth that we need,” added the 20-year-old.

“Players can come in, come out and rotate, so we are showing how good a side we are, how good a squad we are. And as a club this is where we need to be.

“A lot of players will be disappointed that they haven’t had that much game time so far this season.

“But the fixtures are coming thick and fast now over the next few months and there will be opportunities for everyone.”

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The current Reds boss is hoping that a club legend will return to Anfield once the day comes for him to walk away from a role on Merseyside

Jurgen Klopp wants Steven Gerrard to be his successor at Liverpool, with the German already helping out the current Rangers boss in any way he can.

The man occupying the Anfield hot-seat at present is tied to a contract through to 2022.

There has been talk of Liverpool looking to put an extension in place, but Klopp has stopped short of entering into discussions as he endeavours to keep focus locked on the present.

He is aware that it is never wise to plan too far ahead in the cut-throat world of modern football.

The 52-year-old has also suggested that he will be in need of a break once his commitments in a demanding role on Merseyside come to a close.

Whenever the day comes for him to walk away, either through choice or necessity, then Klopp is hoping to see the baton passed to a Liverpool legend who has shown plenty of promise during a first managerial position at Ibrox.

He is already working alongside one Reds icon in the form of non-executive director Kenny Dalglish, but would like to see Gerrard return to his roots when a job vacancy opens up.

Quizzed by FourFourTwo on future plans and what it is like to have Dalglish around at Anfield, Klopp said: “Kenny and Stevie have both been a really big support from day one. 

“Second, my position as a manager has nothing to do with the people around me. If Liverpool were to sack me tomorrow, then maybe Kenny would be the first choice to replace me, but they would probably bring Stevie down from Glasgow. 

“If you ask who should follow me, I’d say Stevie. I help him whenever I can.

“If someone gets your job, it’s not about them, it’s about you not being good enough.

“I’m old enough to know that I give this job everything. I’m not a genius, I’m not perfect, but I give the club 100 per cent. If that’s enough, great. If it’s not, then it’s just the problem of the situation. 

“I’m not jealous, I’m not sceptical. I’m completely open. If you want my help, you’ll get it. 

“My family often thinks that I’m too quick to open up, but I think being any other way is a waste of time. I love life, I love my job, I like most people – that’s how it is.”

Klopp has been a stunning success at Liverpool since being appointed as successor to Brendan Rodgers in October 2015.

He has turned the Reds into serious contenders for the Premier League title, while a long wait of major silverware was ended in 2018-19 as Champions League glory was secured in Madrid.

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The former Red Devils defender has echoed a famous line from Alan Hansen, with the Class of ’92 graduate seeing a lack of leaders at Old Trafford

Manchester United were once told that “you don’t win anything with kids”, and Gary Neville believes the club’s class of 2019-20 will prove that to be the case.

Back in the mid-1990s, Alan Hansen famously stated that, after the Red Devils opened the season with a defeat away at Aston Villa, Sir Alex Ferguson had taken the wrong approach by putting his faith in youth.

That claim was made to look rather foolish as the fabled Class of ’92 helped to consolidate United’s standing as the dominant force in England and serious challengers for European crowns.

Neville, alongside the likes of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, proved that youngsters can play a leading role if used in the right way and introduced to a squad that boasts plenty of experience around them.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s current team are considered to lack leaders, making it impossible for academy graduates such as Mason Greenwood, Scott McTominay, Andreas Pereira and Marcus Rashford to have the same kind of impact as iconic predecessors.

Neville told Sky Sports : “I pointed out on Sunday [during a 2-0 defeat at West Ham] at the £900m that has been spent in the last seven or eight years, and there’s nothing left of it really.

“There are the bones of a squad, some young players from the academy that haven’t cost that money. Potentially David de Gea, who is struggling. There’s Harry Maguire but there’s a lot more rebuilding to do.

“I’ve said many times that Alan Hansen was right, you don’t win anything with kids.

“The Class of ’92 didn’t win that Premier League title. We had Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Roy Keane, Eric Cantona, Brian McClair and Peter Schmeichel. We had world-class performers and two of the best centre-backs ever.

“Keane was the most inspirational captain and leader, Cantona was world class, Schmeichel was the best in the world and Denis Irwin was brilliant. They pulled us through it. If the Class of ’92 had gone into this team, we would have had no chance.”

Neville has stated on several occasions that he believes United are a number of transfer windows and several years away from being contenders for major honours  once again.

He has now reiterated that, with it his opinion that the Red Devils require more serious investment in order to get their squad up to standard.

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He added: “I’m not panicking as a fan. I’m frustrated but not panicking.

“What I would say is they have to quickly and efficiently identify three or four players to go alongside De Gea and Maguire. They need a couple of midfield players, they need a striker to carry the front line, they need a wide player and they need a left-back.

“You can’t kid football fans. There are five or six players required.”

A slew of recent racist incidents prompted the governing body’s president to call for action at his federation’s annual awards ceremony

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has urged football to banish racism once and for all in a speech at his federation’s annual The Best awards.

Infantino addressed the crowd at the ceremony in Milan on Monday, before presenting Lionel Messi with The Best FIFA Men’s Player prize .

But first he spoke of the disgraceful scenes during Atalanta’s game against Fiorentina in Serie A on Sunday.

The 2-2 draw at the Ennio Tardini was stopped for three minutes after Fiorentina defender Dalbert, on loan from Inter, reported racist abuse from the crowd to the referee.

“I want to say this here in Italy, in my country. Yesterday, again, we have witnessed in the Italian championship an example of racism,” Infantino said.

“This is not acceptable any more. We have to say this. We have to say no to racism, in whatever form.

“No to racism in football, no to racism in society. But we don’t have just to say it. We have to fight against it.

“We have to kick racism out once and for all in Italy and in the rest of the world. Out of football and out of society.”

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Striker Romelu Lukaku was subjected to monkey chants during Inter’s 2-1 win at Cagliari earlier this month, while Hellas Verona denied Franck Kessie was racially abused by their fans during a 1-0 defeat to AC Milan.

Kessie slammed Verona’s claims that the referee was the target of whistles as ‘unacceptable and disgraceful’.

The racism incidents haven’t only been confined to Serie A, with several Premier League players, including Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Tammy Abraham subjected to vile comments on social media.

English top-flight’s governing body is currently in talks with Twitter over what can be done to stop the hateful speech to be displayed on the social media platform.

“The Premier League, EFL and FA met Twitter today [Friday] with respect to the ongoing concerns surrounding discriminatory and hateful conduct taking place on the platform,” the governing body said in a statement.

“The meeting was productive and positive, and gave both the football authorities and Twitter an opportunity to examine some of the specific issues around this unacceptable behaviour both online and offline.

“All parties agreed to take these constructive discussions forward.”

In September 2016, seven months after Infantino took office, FIFA disbanded its anti-racism task force, declaring it had “completely fulfilled its temporary mission’.

The 30-year-old scored Bayern Munich’s second of the game against Wolfsburg and thus moved ahead of Claudio Pizarro in the all-time standings

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Robert Lewandowski has moved in front as the highest-scoring foreign player of all-time in the Bundesliga following his goal against Wolfsburg on Saturday.

The Pole was on target in the 37th minute as he put Bayern Munich 2-0 in front in their game at Allianz Arena, bringing up a total of 196 goals in Germany’s top-flight league.

The record had been set by Claudio Pizarro with 195 Bundesliga goals.

The 40-year-old Werder Bremen striker was last on target in his side’s 1-1 draw with Hertha Berlin on February 16 and he missed the chance to pull clear of Lewandowski during Friday’s 4-2 win over Schalke.

That gave the opportunity to the Bayern forward to move ahead as he lined up against Wolfsburg, with Lewandowski scoring his side’s second of the game after Serge Gnabry had put them in front.

Of his total of 196 Bundesliga goals, the 30-year-old has scored 122 of them for Bayern, while the other 74 came during his spell with Borussia Dortmund between 2010 and 2014.

Lewandowski and Pizarro are way out in front as the Bundesliga’s highest foreign scorers, with Brazilian Giovane Elber some way behind in third spot with a total of 133 goals.

Vedad Ibisevic sits in fourth having amassed 118 goals for four different clubs over his career in Germany, including Alemannia Aachen, Hoffenheim, Stuttgart and his current club Hertha Berlin.

Poland international Lewandowski is currently the top scorer in the Bundesliga in 2018-19 having scored 16 goals this season.

He did, however, only net once in February across all competitions but has got back into the groove in March with two goals in the 5-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach having been followed up with his effort against Wolfsburg.

Niko Kovac will be hoping he continues to bang in the goals as we approach what will be the last 11 games of the Bundesliga season.

Prior to kick-off on Saturday, Bayern were level on points with Dortmund at the top of the table having clawed their way back into the title race after trailing by six points heading into the winter break.

They are also in contention to advance in the Champions League and face Liverpool in the second leg of their last-16 tie on March 13.

And they’re in the DFB Pokal quarter-final too, where they’ll face 2. Bundsliga side Heidenheim as they look to win the competition for the first time since the 2015-16 season.