Letters

Reading about Chinese films gaining international recognition in the February issue of China Today， I was elated to find out how many Chinese films have won international awards. In recent years， as China’s economic miracle has amazed the world， Chinese culture is also attracting more and more international attention， as evidenced by the Chinese elements incorporated into such Hollywood hits as Kung Fu Panda， Mulan， 2012 and Mission Impossible： Ghost Protocol. The Chinese movies that embrace China’s unique culture and history have also claimed more and more audiences’ attention worldwide. However， on examining internationally recognized Chinese movies more closely several problems are evident. First， many movies are too obsessed with martial arts， as if it’s the only feature of Chinese culture of interest to foreigners. Second， some filmmakers dwell excessively on distorted human relations set against specific Chinese historical periods， leading to suspicions that they are intentionally pandering to the taste of foreign film judges in international film festivals. We all know China enjoys a long history and rich culture filled with many heroic epics. I really wish that more Chinese directors would present an admirable image of China to the global audience and help them understand more about Chinese culture and the true life of its people. Jiang Tao Hubei， China

When talking about China’s film sector， we cannot overlook ticket prices， which essentially control public accessibility to films. Economist Lang Xianping wrote two years ago that prices have soared to 800 times that of 25 years ago. 2010-2011 research also revealed that， when adjusted according to per capita income， the cost of a ticket in China is 8.5 times that in the U.S. and 7.2 times that in France. A movie realizes its value only through healthy box office receipts. To make theater going an affordable pastime for most Chinese citizens， more medium- and lowend theaters should be built across the country. Furthermore， filmmakers should be weaned off their obsession with epic， extravagant productions. Zhu Lijun Beijing， China

It’s really encouraging to learn the news from China Today that the origin system that traces and supervises the importation of wines has been put into use in China. It’s convenient for consumers to check wine information using the Prooftag’s bubble tag and QR code which are unique for each bottle of imported wine. Wine-lovers like me will now undoubtedly be able to enjoy more genuine imported quality wine than ever. I also hope that the supervision system will be applied to other imported products such as baby formula. However， I can’t help but pity some domestic brands for the preference of Chinese consumers for imported food products. While it has been the long and refined wine-producing traditions of some Western countries that have driven Chinese consumers’ buying frenzy for imported wine， the reason behind their obsession with foreign baby formula lies in their trust in foreign food producers and supervision authorities. This is an embarrassment for Chinese producers and relevant government organs. Food safety is a basic human need， and if a nation’s consumers are placing their trust in overseas products it’s high time domestic food producers and authorities took a good hard look at themselves and remedy existing weaknesses in food safety systems. Pei Ran Shanghai， China