Kiki ... RTA wanted it removed as being offensive to Tagalog people, from the Phillipines. Source: The Daily Telegraph
A NSW woman says she is being relentlessly pursued by state road authorities because her personalized number plate means "vagina" in another language, news.com.au reported Wednesday. The Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) says the number plate bearing the name - "Kiki" - is the same word used for vagina in the Filipino language, Tagalog, and wanted them removed.
Kristen Perry, a lawyer from Newcastle, said she was informed of her "offensive" nickname after first receiving her personalized plates five years ago as a gift from her husband, the Newcastle Herald reports.
"At first I thought it was a joke, but then I realized it was actually quite serious and that my number plates would be taken off me if I didn't respond appropriately," Perry told ABC.
"Quite frankly it's a bit of a funny thing, but at the same time quite a bit scary that we've got people that can just report a number plate that seems quite inoffensive to 99 percent of us out there, but one percent have an issue with it."
The RTA has said it received a complaint from a Tagalog speaker who found the number plate offensive. The Tagalog people is an ethnic group in the Philippines, making up 28.1 per cent of the Filipino population. Perry said that Kiki has been her nickname since childhood.
''I rang my father last night and said, 'Do you know you have been calling me vagina all my life?''' This afternoon the RTA relented.
"The RTA has a responsibility to investigate complaints about personalised plate content, but we recognise that in doing this we must take a common sense approach,’’ a spokeswoman said today.
"‘We recognise in this case a common sense approach was not adopted and Ms Perry will retain the content of her plates."
KITTY Chung knew her husband's chicken chow mein packed a punch but she never thought it would see a would-be robber wok away empty-handed.
About 8.20pm on Friday she and her husband, Chi On, were getting ready to close their business, Thea-Mae Chinese Restaurant, at Gaven Heights shopping complex.
The last thing they expected was an armed robber wielding a 30cm carving knife to walk through the door.
However the Chungs, who have owned the restaurant for six years, were not going to let the "skinny, weedy thief" get away with their takings.
He learnt the hard way woks are not just good for cooking.
"We had our last order put in about 8.15pm and my husband was out the back cooking it," Mrs Chung said.
"A man came through the front door and his face was covered with a black handkerchief, which I thought was strange, and then he just pulled out this big knife and I started to scream."
As the robber attempted to steal the till, pocket-sized Mr Chung came up from behind with a wok full of scorching chicken chow mein and his ladle.
He poured the contents of the wok on to the bandit's back. The armed man, now in agony, struggled from behind the counter as Mr Chung continued to wallop him with the wok, the force causing him to drop the knife.
It was quickly picked up by Mrs Chung who, with her husband, chased the man down Universal Drive.
AS a boy Jesse Chee dreamed of becoming a soldier and serving his country. So as soon as he was old enough he applied for the army reserve unit in PNG which was under Australian command.
His application drew the attention of a local journalist who wanted to write a story about an Australian of Asian descent joining the defence force.
The story was never written and Mr Chee never heard whether he had been accepted into the army. Confused, he asked the journalist who said the top brass in Canberra had told him to shelve the story. Mr Chee later learned that his application had been rejected while the Australian parliament discussed overturning the White Australia Policy.
Now, more than 40 years later, the Government continues to redress past wrongs. This month Prime Minister Julia Gillard attended the official unveiling of a Chinese war memorial at Sunnybank RSL.
The memorial is one of only three in Australia and is the first time any Australian RSL has dedicated a war memorial to Australian service personnel of Chinese descent.
Mr Chee, who eventually was allowed to join the army, said it meant ``a heck of a lot’’ to receive due recognition for his service. ``Finally Australia has acknowledged our service as equals,’’ he said.
Ms Gillard said the Anzac spirit embraced people of all backgrounds.
Sunnybank RSL president Robert Lippiatt said the recognition was well over-due but the RSL was committed to strengthening ties with the Chinese community. He said towards that goal, the RSL had coincided the memorial’s opening with the launch of a bursary to help struggling students achieve their potential.
"But look through the names on the roll of honour and there are Australians of Chinese heritage. Jewish heritage. Indigenous heritage. Lebanese and Afghan heritage. And so many others.
In fact, two of our very greatest soldiers in the First World War were Billy Sing and Caleb Shang.
Just as one of the most daring and resourceful soldiers of the Second World War was Jack Wong Sue.
And beyond those enlisted, there were many more refused enrolment because of their background, and they served in other capacities here at home such as civil defence or simply offered the silent service of uncomplaining loyalty deep in their hearts, putting aside any sense of dismay or offence.".
Still working on Chinese ANZACs and I think it'll be a while before there's enough information on the site to make me satisfied. Someone uploaded a picture of Caleb Shang onto Wikipedia which is awesome because I was having trouble finding a clear picture of him. Caleb was the most highly decorated Chinese Australian of WW1. Feel free to visit Chinese ANZACs and offer some feedback.
FOLLOWING his recent Oscar success Australian illustrator and author Shaun Tan has won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in Sweden - the world's largest children's literature award.
The award, which amounts to $764,600, was announced in Stockholm today.
Melbourne-based Tan has illustrated more than 20 books, including The Rabbits (1998), The Lost Thing (2000), The Red Tree (2001), The Arrival (2006) and Tales from Outer Suburbia (2008).
His award citation read: "Shaun Tan has reinvented the picture book by creating visually spectacular pictorial narratives with a constant human presence."
In February Tan won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for his 15-minute film The Lost Thing.
SourceFOLLOWING his recent Oscar success Australian illustrator and author Shaun Tan has won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in Sweden - the world's largest children's literature award.
The award, which amounts to $764,600, was announced in Stockholm today.
Melbourne-based Tan has illustrated more than 20 books, including The Rabbits (1998), The Lost Thing (2000), The Red Tree (2001), The Arrival (2006) and Tales from Outer Suburbia (2008).
His award citation read: "Shaun Tan has reinvented the picture book by creating visually spectacular pictorial narratives with a constant human presence."
In February Tan won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for his 15-minute film The Lost Thing.
Online campaigner Ehon Chan urges men to 'soften the f--- up' to raise mental health awareness
AN ONLINE campaign urging men to face up to mental health issues turns one of the great phrases of Australian bloke culture on its head, telling guys to "soften the f--- up".
Digital branding professional Ehon Chan coined the slogan as part of a campaign he hopes will resonate and raise awareness with a younger audience.
“A big part of this campaign is challenging the ‘real man’ stereotype,” Mr Chan said.
“We think being a real man is about being tough enough to acknowledge something isn't right and strong enough to seek help.”
He said he initially had concerns about the name and had opted for the less confronting “Soften up mate” before being talked out of it by a friend.
“There are connotations that go with ‘Soften the f--- up’ which are quite different to those that go with ‘Soften up mate’,” he said.
“The message is not getting through to men that it’s OK to ask for help, this issue does affect them, something has to be done to challenge that mentality.”
More Australians are killed each year by suicide than by road accidents. In 2008, 2191 people took their own lives, while the road toll was below 1450.
The toll is the highest killer of Australian youth. The World Health Organisation says “[suicide] rates among young people have been increasing to such an extent that they are now the group at highest risk in a third of countries”.
Four out of five youth suicides are men.
The figures also fail to include the tens of thousands more who attempt to take their own lives each year (estimated by the WHO to be as many as 20 times that of successful suicides) or the hundreds of thousands of people living with mental health issues, often without being aware of the issue or asking for support.
While there are campaigns such as Movember that address men’s mental health and health issues Mr Chan says his is the first to try to “address the male stereotypes about asking for help directly”.
It’s an ambitious task but Mr Chan says he would be happy if his campaign simply raised awareness and started people talking about the issue.
John Wallin from the Men’s Shed group, who create “men’s sheds” – communities for men to get together – says some men are still reluctant to talk about mental health issues.
“There is the old men’s culture of having a stiff upper lip, soldiering on, men don’t cry and that sort of thing,” Mr Wallin said.
“Men’s Shed is not a health organisation but we are receiving an increasing number of calls from people who are seeking help with these issues, who are saying the resources are overloaded, that’s a very bad thing.
“The public needs to be aware of these issues and aware you can talk about them.”
Mr Wallin said a large part of the problem surrounding mental health issues is the difficulty in defining and tacking problems.
“It’s not an area where you can easily help people,” he said.
“Family don’t have the expertise and a lot of the time I don’t think guys will willingly put their hands up about this.”
For crisis support, call or visit Lifeline on 13 11 14. Source“There are connotations that go with ‘Soften the f--- up’ which are quite different to those that go with ‘Soften up mate’,” he said.
“The message is not getting through to men that it’s OK to ask for help, this issue does affect them, something has to be done to challenge that mentality.”
More Australians are killed each year by suicide than by road accidents. In 2008, 2191 people took their own lives, while the road toll was below 1450.
The toll is the highest killer of Australian youth. The World Health Organisation says “[suicide] rates among young people have been increasing to such an extent that they are now the group at highest risk in a third of countries”.
Four out of five youth suicides are men.
The figures also fail to include the tens of thousands more who attempt to take their own lives each year (estimated by the WHO to be as many as 20 times that of successful suicides) or the hundreds of thousands of people living with mental health issues, often without being aware of the issue or asking for support.
While there are campaigns such as Movember that address men’s mental health and health issues Mr Chan says his is the first to try to “address the male stereotypes about asking for help directly”.
It’s an ambitious task but Mr Chan says he would be happy if his campaign simply raised awareness and started people talking about the issue.
John Wallin from the Men’s Shed group, who create “men’s sheds” – communities for men to get together – says some men are still reluctant to talk about mental health issues.
“There is the old men’s culture of having a stiff upper lip, soldiering on, men don’t cry and that sort of thing,” Mr Wallin said.
“Men’s Shed is not a health organisation but we are receiving an increasing number of calls from people who are seeking help with these issues, who are saying the resources are overloaded, that’s a very bad thing.
“The public needs to be aware of these issues and aware you can talk about them.”
Mr Wallin said a large part of the problem surrounding mental health issues is the difficulty in defining and tacking problems.
“It’s not an area where you can easily help people,” he said.
“Family don’t have the expertise and a lot of the time I don’t think guys will willingly put their hands up about this.”
For crisis support, call or visit Lifeline on 13 11 14.
A new trend has appeared in the lead up to the New South Wales election - the swelling number of Asian-born voters now poised to vote Liberal for the first time.
A STUDENT who was being stalked for his sandwich wrestled an ibis to the ground and stomped on it until the bird was so badly injured it had to be put down, a court has been told.
Andrew Quay Wee Meng, 25, pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Magistrates Court today to one count of animal cruelty on March 1.
The court was told Quay Wee Meng had been eating a sandwich in Brisbane's South Bank Parklands when the bird "snuck up from behind" and jumped onto his table.
Quay Wee Meng threw his food down, wrestled the bird to the ground and stomped on it five times.
The court was told the bird's wing was shattered and a blow to its neck caused it such difficulty in breathing that it had to be put down.
Quay Wee Meng's lawyer, Sue Ganasan, told the court the Singapore-born law student lashed out at the ibis because he was once attacked by a large crow and had been frightened of Australian birds ever since. However, she said, he accepted his response was excessive and he was remorseful.
Magistrate John Costello said onlookers would have been "appalled" by the attack, but said Quay Wee Meng's youth, guilty plea and lack of criminal history meant he would not receive a jail sentence.
He also agreed not to record a conviction after being told it would adversely affect Quay Wee Meng's chances of employment.
Mr Costello ordered Quay Wee Meng to perform of 120 hours community service, and that he do so with the RSPCA wherever possible.
Comedian Anh Do's memoir The Happiest Refugee has won the Indie Book of the Year Award for 2011.
The announcement was made at the annual conference of Australia's independent booksellers at Coolum, in southeast Queensland, on Monday night.
Do, whose debut work was published in September last year, says he was overcome with emotion when his name was announced.
"When I found out I'd won book of the year, the first person I called was my mum, who was so happy she cried on the phone. I did a bit too to be honest."
The award is made to the independent booksellers' favourite Australian book from the past 12 months.
"The Happiest Refugee was chosen by an overwhelming number of independent booksellers as their book of the year," says Leading Edge Books general manager and awards organiser Simon Milne.
"Last year was an important year for non-fiction, and this is the first time a non-fiction book has won this award. Anh Do's story of his family's struggle to reach Australia, and the life they have created since then touched booksellers and readers alike."
The Happiest Refugee was also awarded Best Non-Fiction book, while other winners were Chris Womersley for Bereft (Best Fiction); Jon Bauer for Rocks in the Belly (Best Debut Fiction) and Jeannie Baker for Mirror (Best Children's Book).
Melbourne teen Cheong Kit Au is on his way to New York after being formally recognised by Guinness World Records as the fastest texter on the planet.
After winning $10,000 and the chance to compete in the LG World Cup in New York in late January, the 16-year-old whipped through a 264-character text in 1min 17.03sec, smashing the previous world record by a stunning 43 seconds for typing on a qwerty-style keypad.
He picked up another $3000 bonus for that effort.
The talented student from Melbourne High is also at home texting blindfolded, backwards and holding the phone upside down.
But there's no need for training, given Cheong sends up to 200 text messages a day.
Even during his chat with the Herald Sun, the SMS speedster was in constant contact with mates - including one just metres away.
"It's just like a big conversation, sort of Twitter on steroids," he said.
The slightly built teen with nimble fingers doesn't seem to care if it's an iPhone, Nokia, LG or any of the other smart phones, given his intricate knowledge of their inner workings.
The Herald Sun challenged Cheong to a race to type the famous soliloquy from Hamlet.
But by the time it took them a minute to (almost) bash out "To be, or not to be: that is the question", Cheong had already sped through several stanzas, including corrections.
PING HAN was a successful small business owner - he ran an insulation business, a travel agency, an interpreting service, a migration agency and also managed several rental properties.
The problem was he did it all while working at his "proper job" - as a RailCorp clerk.
Mr Han was sacked after 14 years working for RailCorp when his bosses found out the extent of his moonlighting. He lost an appeal this month to the Transport Appeals Board for using his employer's time and resources to run his stable of small businesses.
Documents stated a RailCorp investigation found he breached its code of conduct by not declaring his secondary employment and used his email and other work resources for personal affairs.
Mr Han pleaded guilty to breaching RailCorp's code of conduct, which says employees have to declare any secondary employment. But he claimed the sacking was extreme and he did not understand the policy "completely or correctly" because it had changed in 2007. "I tried to declare secondary employment in 2007 but as the form had changed I did not understand if, or how, I was meant to declare it from 2007 onwards," Mr Han said in a statement tendered to the tribunal.
The tribunal heard evidence that while Mr Han was "not derelict" in his duties to RailCorp but he was "more frequently engaged in his personal documents" than work-related activity.
Commissioner Peter Connor said that it was logical for RailCorp to conclude that Mr Han was spending time on work not related to RailCorp.
Mr Connor said it was likely one of Mr Han's colleagues may have complained as it may have been perceived he was "not pulling his weight".
The tribunal heard that Mr Han was counselled by RailCorp for similar behaviour, which was interfering with his work in 2005.
Mr Han told investigators he was the only bread winner in his family and the loss of his job would put his family under considerable hardship, the tribunal heard.
In dismissing the appeal Mr Connor said Mr Han displayed initiative but the evidence presented that his initiative seemed to be directed at his personal interests rather than his work with RailCorp.
NINE years of painstaking work was rewarded when Melbourne illustrator and director Shaun Tan scored his first Oscar nomination.
Tan's film, The Lost Thing, has been nominated for best animated short film, bringing the first-time movie-maker a sense of relief and elation.
Brunswick-based Tan, who wrote the book the film was based on, said there were times when he felt he would never get the movie finished.
"Sometimes it feels totally ridiculous when you are spending entire days focused on the shape of a nose or the colour of a cloud in the background," he said.
"You start wondering why you are doing this. But we all love the film, and always believed in it. It was just a really long project."
Work on the film, which was made by a core team of just four people, started in Melbourne in 2001 with several rough versions of the film discarded.
"It is weird because over that amount of time the technology changes and by the time I finished on the film I went from being a real novice director to now feeling like I have done a 10-year film course."
Tan said he was looking forward to going to the Oscars on February 27.
Old Belmore (Paddy's) Markets. Opened in 1869 and named the Belmore Markets after the then Governor of the colony. Chinese gardeners brought cartloads of vegetables to this market daily. The buildings were demolished in 1910. DATE c 1909. Picture: Courtesy City of Sydney Archives Source: The Daily Telegraph
THE year of the rabbit is nearly upon us and Sydney begins its Chinese New Year celebrations tonight, with a launch at Belmore Park, near Central station.
Despite some periods of anti-Chinese feeling, Sydney has mostly embraced its residents of that origin. Among them was the merchant Way Kee. Born in Canton (Guangzhou) in 1824, the son of a merchant, he came to Australia about 1853. Working at first for other merchants, he soon made a name for himself in the Chinese community -- appointed in 1857 as treasurer of the Koon Yee Tong, an organisation that returned the remains of dead people to their homeland. By 1871 he had established his own business in The Rocks and in 1876 he leased a stretch of Lower George St, demolishing the buildings and erecting three new shops and residences including his Sydney home.
Two of the shops were rented out and sometimes housed gambling operations, but at a royal commision into gambling Way Kee denied knowing anything about the practice. Having only a smattering of English, he said, through an interpreter, that "I never go out. I always sit inside my shop." He explained that the Koon Yee Tong was not a front for vice. Way Kee had often campaigned against the vices of lower-class Chinese in Sydney, particularly gambling and opium smoking.
From his shop he controlled an importing empire that included several regional shops in NSW and Queensland, a market garden in Lane Cove and business interests overseas. When he died of a heart attack in 1892, 3000 people attended his funeral. Starting with a Christian service, it then became a funeral procession, with brass bands and waving banners, that wound through Sydney for two hours. The procession ended at Smith's Wharf where an elaborate ceremony was conducted as Way Kee's remains were put aboard the Tsinan, bound for more funereal ceremonies in China.
The ceremony was organised by Quong Tart, who ran a luxurious city tea room.
By then another Canton-born man was founding his empire. Kwok (or George) Bew was born in China in 1868, the son of a farmer. After his father died he left for Sydney in 1883.
His English must have been good because he was a door-to-door salesman in Grafton before becoming a produce merchant in Sydney. He founded Wing Sang & Co, a fruit shop that sold produce grown by Chinese farmers in northern NSW, traded through the old Belmore Markets in what is today Belmore Park -- a centre for modern Chinese New Year Ceremonies. Wing Sang & Co grew to be a major player in the wholesale banana market.
Converting to Christianity, in 1896 Bew married Darling Young, daughter of a Chinese-born merchant based in Bourke. With merchants including Mark Joe, Ma Ying Piu and Choy Hing, Bew established Wing On & Co, which had operations in China and around the Pacific. In 1904 Bew became vice-president of the Chinese Merchants Defence Association, which fought the "White Australia" policy and sentiment.
He also became an avid supporter of Chinese republican revolutionary Sun Yat Sen, becoming president of the Sydney branch of the Chinese Nationalist League (Kuomintang) in 1916. In 1917 Sun invited him to return to China. In 1918 he opened Shanghai's Wing On shopping emporium, which would grow to become China's largest department store. It stood across the road from the Sincere Department Store, established by another Chinese-Australian merchant, Ma Ying-piew. Bew and Ma Ying-piew brought to China what they learned from emporia such as Anthony Hordern & Sons.
While expanding into other areas of business, Bew was also noted for his charitable and philanthropic work and in the 1920s he was appointed the director of the Central Mint of China. He died in 1932, survived by his wife and eight of his 10 children.
DR CHARLES TEO is unlikely to settle into the establishment just because he is a Member of the Order of Australia.
The Sydney neurosurgeon was operating in France last week with a broken rib from skiing. At home he is grounded after losing his driver's licence while drag-racing another motorbike rider.
''I would hate to be thought of as a saint,'' said Teo, 53, who does not fit the mould of his conservative profession but is internationally renowned for his clinical and teaching skills. Advertisement: Story continues below
''This is an absolutely great honour, '' he said, ''but I don't want it to be interpreted that I can now sit on my laurels.
''I would like to dedicate it to the people I haven't been able to save - the poor people, and there are hundreds every year, who die from brain cancer and the people who are left with the burden of their deaths.''
Teo - Charlie, even to his patients - is a pioneer of minimally invasive techniques that reduce trauma, and operates on many ''inoperable'' brain tumours. Born and educated in Sydney, he spent a decade in the US and on his return set up the Centre for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery at Prince of Wales Private Hospital.
Father to four girls with his wife, Genevieve, he spends much of the year teaching and operating around the world. He is the founder of the Cure for Life Foundation, which supports research into causes and treatments for brain cancer.
Teo's outspoken confidence has brought criticism from some peers, who complain that he gives ''false hope'' to those with terminal cancer. Yet he is a hero to thousands of patients.
''The thing I am most proud of is,'' he said, ''is that I have not accepted neurosurgical dogma. Through tenacity and an overwhelming desire to improve the lives of my patients I've pushed the envelope.''
The ''strides'' forward in his often heartbreaking field include a survival time for patients diagnosed with brain cancer that has improved from one year to two since 2003.
Teo gives credit to the team of doctors, nurses and assistants ''who make me look good'' and to his critics. ''I had to take the high road because it was the only thing that would save me.''
While grateful for his award, he is almost as excited about a lunch next month with the members of Abba, whose music often accompanies his surgery.
Susan Wyndham is the author of Life in His Hands, a book about Charles Teo.
A NEW group of Asian models from Japan, Taiwan, China and South Korea are redefining the face of international fashion.
They are not yet household names, but they are sharing international runways and starring in lucrative advertising campaigns alongside the world's highest-paid beauties.
Chinese model Liu Wen is the most successful of the group. From Beijing, Wen's trajectory started on the pages of the Chinese editions of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. In 2008 she made her first appearance in Paris on the catwalk for Jean Paul Gaultier and Chanel. Recently, Estee Lauder signed her as a new face and she is the 10th-highest-paid model in the world. Advertisement: Story continues below
The Taiwanese actor-turned-model Godfrey Tsao is the latest to join this crop of mainly female models. Taller than most of his countrymen at 1.85 metres, Tsao has become the first Asian male to star in a menswear advertising campaign for the French fashion house Louis Vuitton.
Stephen Lee from New York's NEXT Model Management, which represents the Chinese model Shu Pei Qin, who is the world-wide face of Maybelline cosmetics, believes this is not a fleeting trend.
''There's been a very significant rise and demand towards the Asian look in the last five years, specifically from the Chinese market with its burgeoning economy and accessibility to a huge population. I do believe it's now an established market that will only grow as high-end products become even more accessible to the Asian population,'' Lee said.
In Australia, the Eurasian models Rachel Rutt and Jessica Gomes are redefining the sun-kissed blue-eyed blonde stereotype. Rutt is of Singaporean and British heritage and grew up in Japan before moving to Australia in 2005. The Sydney-based model has featured in campaigns for Sportsgirl, Saba, General Pants and on the pages of Marie Claire, Grazia and in Vogue Italia. Gomes was born in Perth of Singaporean and Portuguese heritage. Now based in New York, she has worked with DKNY and was the face of the Sean Combs Unforgivable fragrance.
Kathy Ward from Sydney's Chic Management, which represents Rutt and Gomes, does not like to label the pair. She puts their success down to the fact that they stand out in the crowd. ''They are both definitely in demand. Jessica has a busy schedule internationally and a huge following in South Korea and Rachel has the look of the moment. She's in high-demand for mainstream fashion media, advertising at Australian Fashion Week.''
Asian models have found success in the past - the 1980s model Tina Chow being one of the most famous - but ethnic diversity has long been a fraught topic within the fashion industry. The face of fashion is a homogeneous one, with those blessed with long thin white limbs dominating the pages of international fashion magazines. Beauties from eastern Europe, America and Britain are traditionally the highest paid models in the world. The top five female models today hail from Poland, Denmark, Netherlands, Russia and Australia (Melbourne's Abbey-Lee Kershaw). The debate, however, has mainly focused on the representation of black models. Naomi Campbell is an outspoken campaigner on the issue and in 2009 caused controversy when she told Glamour magazine that the fashion industry was racist. ''You know, the American president may be black, but as a black woman, I am still an exception in this business. I always have to work harder to be treated equally,'' Campbell said.
A Lanvin designer, Alber Elbaz, recently said he did not see colour when he was casting his catwalk crew. ''I use blonde, brunette, redhead, black and Asian models - I never do it to be politically correct.''
Elbaz may be speaking the truth or pulling expensive wool over our eyes. Not one luxury fashion house could deny that its bread is now buttered in Asia.
The bag Tsao is modelling, right, is called the Elvis but it is not only nostalgic Americans whom Louis Vuitton is hoping to draw into the store.
Both Louis Vuitton and Gucci have grown exponentially in China during the past five years. Gucci opened its first store inside the Peninsula Hotel in 1997 and now there are over 25 boutiques in 16 cities. Louis Vuitton first set up shop at the Peninsula Hotel in 1992 and now operates over 20 boutiques across China.
According to a TNS Retail Forward study Strategic Focus: China's Retail Landscape by 2015 China is expected to have passed the US and equalled Japan as the world's biggest market for luxury goods.''Everybody in the fashion/beauty industry recognises the importance of global markets, and currently China, Taiwan and South Korea are at the forefront,'' the make-up artist Dick Page told American Vogue last year in a story dedicated to Asian beauties.
KENNETH TO cannot remember all the details of his first day in the pool but he is certain he did not like it. Born in Hong Kong, the Ashbury teenager - who made two finals at the world short course titles in Dubai this month - came from a family who could not swim and was scared of the water. ''My first real lesson was at Ashfield public pool with my older sister when I was about five years old,'' he said.
''I really didn't like the feeling of being in the water when I started so mum and dad got me into swimming lessons to conquer that fear.'' Despite his parents being non-swimmers, Kenneth, 18, said they had made his safety a priority.
It was after completing a swimming program in year 3 at Haberfield Public School that Kenneth's skills really started to develop. He is now considered a likely prospect for the London Olympics in 2012.
''If you're born in Australia or grow up in Australia, swimming is built into the culture, but trying to get people from other cultures to learn to swim is important, especially people from Middle Eastern or Asian backgrounds who don't really have pools or access to water,'' he said.
''I'm pretty sure all parents always want their kids to be safe, especially around pools and beaches in Australia. It is a vital life skill that every kid has to have from when you're young.''
Camille Chen's debut feature film Little Sparrows has won the SPAARTAN Award in the 2010 DigiSPAA feature film competition, part of the Screen Producers Association of Australia's (SPAA) annual conference.
Little Sparrows traces the emotional journey of three sisters (played by Nina Deasley, Melanie Munt and Arielle Gray) whose mother Susan (Nicola Bartlett) is dying of breast cancer. As the women gather to celebrate what will be their last Christmas with their mother, the film explores and reflects upon the individual journeys of the three sisters, the decisions they've made and their family relationships.
The film was shot on location in Chen's home state of Western Australia in December 2009. The world premiere of the film took place at the Sydney Film Festival in June this year and it also recently screened as part of the 5th International Rome Film Festival.
DigiSPAA is a celebration of the use of digital media technologies in filmmaking. When asked to describe how digital technology influenced the production process of Little Sparrows, Chen says that the use of this technology provided her with "a different kind of creative freedom and versatility," allowing her to be "as unobtrusive as possible and almost pseudo-documentary in style" whilst remaining "drama-focused."
Chen describes the reception of the film both within and outside Australia as "overwhelming and positive. Whichever city we screen the film I constantly become amazed how people come to understand the film, particularly women."
When asked about the production process behind Little Sparrows, Chen says that one of her goals as director was to "inspire people to give the best in themselves. The energy we were able to experience during the shoot translates on the screen so well."
Chen goes on to describe the most rewarding aspect of the filmmaking process as the "fact that we self-funded the film which allowed us so much creative control", going on to say that the "beauty of independent filmmaking is the responsibility you have to yourself."
Little Sparrows has secured an international distribution deal with Paris-based international sales agent Urban Media International. An Australian release is still to be confirmed.
For more information on Camille Chen and Little Sparrows, click here.
