Yes, we now have to mention Rotaract Sanlitun (or Rotaract East) as the new Rotaract Wudaokou (or Rotaract West) has really started its weekly (Thursday) meetings.
We met in Lyrics Cafe, in SOHO Sanlitun, they moved into a new location with a nice view. Still “soft opening”.

Even with two clubs, attendance was good and the discussion lively.

Next planned are Art Jam (7 May – I will donate the wine), a visit to a MCF school for a baking lesson (23 April) and a joint fundraising event by the two clubs, probably in mid-June, among others.

We had two speakers: Ms. Fei (Program officer – Smile Angel) and Marcus of the Rotaract Club in Sweden.
Nationalities again so diverse: Guyana, Netherlands, France, China, Belgium, Romania, Sweden, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Germany, USA. Impressive!

On Tuesday 19 April, our usual lunch at the Kempinski.

I received from President Daniel my Paul Harris pin (PHF+6), always nice it gets to Beijing safely… I have been donating to the Rotary Foundation in the past few years continuously, and I recently became a Paul Harris Society Member.

Our speaker was Ms. Angela Poh; topic: “U.S. — China Strategic Rivalry in Southeast Asia”.

(thanks to Celine for her pics!)

Angela is a PhD candidate at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Formerly working at Singaporean DoD, she is currently  on a one-year visiting fellowship at Peking University. Her research is on a Chinese perspective on and employment of economic retaliation.
She gave an overview of the strategic competition between the U.S. and China in Southeast Asia. She suggested that there were increasing security and economic tensions between China and the U.S. in the Asia-Pacific region. The chances of miscommunication and miscalculation were high, and countries in the region would need to play constructive roles by incorporating both the U.S. and China into new and existing economic and security institutions in order to delicately manage this strategic rivalry.

Joint Anniversary Celebration with RCBM:
A joint Anniversary Celebration of RC Beijing and RC Beijing Mandarin will be held on Sunday, May 22 at JE Mansion, starting at 6pm. Past RI President Gary Huang will attend the event together with district officers. The ticket is RMB 800 per person (RMB 500 for food and RMB 300 for charity).

Our Tuesday lunch became dinner on 12 April.
Gilbert made his report about Rotaract and presented the banner of his visit to the Rotary Club of Carmel (Indiana).

(thanks to Celine for her pics!)

Speaker was Dr. David Aptsiauri, Ambassador of Georgia, presenting his country.

Georgia is in the Caucasus, a region named after the range of mountains that traces a spectacular diagonal spine from Russia’s Black Sea coast in the northwest, to Baku in the southwest, on the Caspian Sea. This range (higher than the Alps) is considered by many to represent the border between Europe and Asia. Georgia is bordered by Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan to the south and Russia to the north. Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 sq Km, and its 2015 population is about 3.75 million. Its favored location has given Georgia a culture partly European, partly Asiatic, but all its own. The climate is diverse, but generally warm and benign. Topography ranges from fertile river valleys to snow-topped peaks and Alpine meadows. Fruit, vines and tea grow in profusion. Georgian wines are a matter of culture.

Georgia also has 500 varieties of grapes and 500 different wines. As it happens, I have at home some wine from Georgia!

Georgians have a story about how their country came to be. God was distributing land among the peoples of the world. The Georgians turned up late and there was no land left. God was annoyed but the Georgians explained that they had been entertaining guests and had got caught up in feasting and thanking God for their blessings with lavish toasts. God was pleased and decide to reward them with the very last spot: “I will give you the land I have been saving for myself.” And so it was that Georgia was born.
This myth holds a lot of truths, as they usually do. It reflects the stunning beauty of the country,and the productive climate.
It also tells of the warmth and hospitality of wine. Georgians still toast, and sing, warmly and without inhibition during their supras.

Georgia is one of the best countries in Europe for investments due to its tax policies. Many companies are looking into moving to Georgia, setting up joint ventures. Georgia has good relations with neighboring countries and China.

Rotarian Eli hosted the auction of Georgian wines donated by the National Wine Agency of Georgia. 13 bottles of wines were all sold and raised RMB 3,950. Together with the happy money, a total of RMB 6,100 was donated to Chunmiao Little Flower.

Special thanks to the Georgian Ambassador Dr. David Aptsiauri and the National Wine Agency of Georgia!