Venue: International House London
16 Stukeley Street
London, WC2B 5LQ‎
Time: 6.30pm -- 8.80pm, Friday 5th March 2010.

Following the talk and demonstration, which will last for approximately 1 hour, you will be invited to meet Mr Kam-sang Law and other guests over a glass of wine.

Please note: The capacity for this free event is limited to 100 people and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. RSVP to themeridiansociety@gmail.com to reserve your seat.

Event details:

The Meridian Society invites you to welcome in the Year of the Tiger with us on Sunday 21st February. Programme will start 11:30am with a sumptuous lunch, traditional Chinese music and a film classic. This event starts the society’s year-long celebration of Shanghai.

Time: 11.30 am
Programme: Lunch meal with traditional Chinese music
Venue: New Loon Fung, China Town
(A fabulous Cantonese-style meal)

Special guest performer: Zhu Xiaomeng
Musical interludes on the guzheng (Chinese zither) of well-known pieces with a Shanghai flavour.

Time: 3.30 pm
Programme: Two Stage Sisters (Film)
Venue: National Film Theatre

This year, Shanghai will take centre stage, as it hosts the International Expo. Taking inspiration from this grand event, The Meridian Society will be bringing this great cosmopolitan city to London, as we feature Shanghai, its people and its culture in our events over the next 12 months.

Please see attachment for more information.

About 40 people attended this lecture held in SOAS on Wednesday, 28 September, 2009

Attitudes to disability and official policies have changed and progressed during the Reform period of the past 30 years. Traditional prejudices and discriminatory practices are gradually being replaced by government, NGO and media concern for people with disabilities. There are about 46,000 registered civil society organisations, not including self-help groups, in China today. The Chinese Disabled Persons Association was founded in the early 1980s. The Paralympics, which followed the Olympics in Beijing in 2008, demonstrated to the world how far China has developed in this respect.

The Meridian Society/BBCN will be hosting a forum on Friday 22nd January, 2010 in association with the CSSA of The School of Oriental and African Studies. The lectures will be delivered by Mr Neil Taylor and Ms Elizabeth Morrell.

Time and Venue
Date: Friday, 22nd January, 2010
Time: 6:00pm–8:00 pm
Venue: Room G3, SOAS Main Building, SOAS, University of London
Location: Russell Square, Thornhaugh Street, London WCH 0XG
Transport: The nearest tube stations are Russell Square and Goodge Street.

We had to arrange our own flights to Beijing and met in the airport there on 1st September. We flew to Yanji in Jilin Province, where we were taken to a Korean restaurant and were served a typical Korean meal, sitting on the floor round a very low table. From Yanji we visited Tumen on the North Korean border. Not surprisingly, there were restrictions on the photos allowed, and we were able to walk half way across the bridge over the boundary river. The Korean influence was very strong, with all advertisements and signs in both Chinese and Korean.

Wednesday, 28 September at The Highbury Centre

Wang Liwei was in a good position to present to the Society a talk on his experiences in the voluntary sector and social responsibility in China today. As Vice-mayor in Guan County, Shandong Province, editor of the philanthropy magazine, Charitarian, and running his own vocational school in Shandong, and manager of several companies, he was well-placed to cover the subject: National Growth, Corporate Development and Social Responsibility.

Mr Wang introduced the topic by summing up past experience of social policies from the Socialist period, when social services, such as medical care and education, were provided free or at a minimum cost to the public - to the Reform Period, when such provisions have to be paid for by individuals and their families. Nowadays, although the standard of such social welfare facilities has improved, many people have not been able to afford them.

The Meridian Society/BBCN will be hosting a talk on Wednesday 28th October, 2009 in association with the CSSA of The School of Oriental and African Studies. The lecture will be delivered by Stephen Hallett.

Over the past 30 years power and decision-making structures in China have become increasingly diverse and complex. The Communist Party no longer wields absolute authority and must now consider a multitude of concerns and interests. Yet faced with a largely unreformed political system, civil society in China still has to tread carefully, seeking subtle and creative ways to express its concerns. In this talk Stephen will describe how a group of disabled people are challenging the status quo and developing innovative solutions to problems facing their society.

The Meridian Society/BBCN will be hosting a lecture talk on Wednesday 30th September 2009. The talk will be delivered by Mr Wang Liwei.

Date: Wednesday 30th September, 2009
Time: 7pm-9pm
Venue: The Highbury Centre (www.thehighburycentre.org)
Location: 20-26 Aberdeen Park, Highbury, London, N5.
Nearest Underground station: Highbury & Islington (Victoria Line)

Mr Wang Liwei will be examining China’s development over the period of 60 years since the founding of the People’s Republic, a momentous event in the long history of China, which is being celebrated in China on a grand scale at the beginning of October.

Dinner-Debate

Following on from our hugely successful dinner-debate last spring, we're holding this year's verbal jousting on Wednesday 7th October 2009 at 7.30pm at Ah King Restaurant, 31-33 Bloomsbury Way, London, WC1A 2SA. (Nearest Underground Station is Holborn-Central Line).

The Motion

This House believes Confucianism is the Chinese way of life.

Words will fly! So come listen and have your say!

Meridian Society and SACU Members: £12

Non-members: £15

RSVP to themeridiansociety@gmail.com by 25th September to reserve your place.

If you'd like to put yourself forward as a speaker, please email us. Names will be drawn out of a hat.