French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius wants to make it easier for Chinese graduate students to study in France.

Diplomatic pouch

The 12th Munich Symposium of the German-Chinese Rule of Law Dialogue was held July 16-17 under the supervision of German Federal Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and the head of the Legal Affairs Office of the State Council of China, Minister Song Dahan. The theme of this year's symposium was "civil rights and state law in the digital age", and panelists from both countries discussed how online violations of law can be enforced, how personal data can be protected, and how the network affects citizen participation and legislation.

The German-Chinese Rule of Law Dialogue stems from an agreement made in 1999, and it seeks to provide a long-term approach to building the rule of law in China.

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Pakistani Ambassador to China Masood Khan and the PakistanWomen's Association of Beijing hosted a fundraiser for Students in Need at the embassy last weekend. A charity auction featured donated smartphones, tablets and deluxe hotel weekend giveaways around Beijing.

Proceeds from the sale of handmade crafts and foods ranging from biryani to pizza and fresh lemonade were donated to support children's education.

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France's new foreign minister told an audience at the University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Beijing earlier this month that his country currently hosts 35,000 Chinese students and "our ambition is to develop and boost this figure in France by 2015 to 50,000 Chinese students, favoring master's and PhD levels".

"For this, we must work to strengthen student mobility. It is particularly important to further facilitate the granting of visas, not only for students but more generally," Laurent Fabius said during his first visit to China since the installation of the new government of President Francois Hollande. He noted that about 1 million visas to France were issued in China last year.

"We must also give new impetus to the teaching of French in China and Chinese in France," he said.

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US Consul General Peter Haymond attended a ceremony late last month commemorating 70 years since the arrival of General Joseph Stilwell in Chongqing. Stilwell was commander-in-chief of US army forces in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II.

The event, which was organized by the US consulate in Chengdu and Chongqing's Stilwell Museum, was held in the general's former residence and command center, and featured remarks from Haymond and a roundtable discussion with local World War II researchers and Chinese veterans. One veteran who served as an interpreter in field hospitals along the Burmese border fondly recalled the generosity of the Americans with whom he worked with during the war.

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The Swedish consul general in Mongolia, Luvsanvandan Boldkhuyag, was given the Order of the Polar Star at a ceremony in Ulaanbaatar this summer. The order was presented by Sweden's Ambassador to China Lars Freden in the presence of family, friends and fellow diplomats.

The Royal Swedish Order of the Polar Star was instituted in 1748 by the King, Fredrik I. Today it is only awarded to non-Swedish citizens and to members of the Royal Court, who have made personal efforts for Sweden or for Swedish interests.

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The Royal Norwegian consulate general, including the commercial section Innovation Norway and the visa section, has moved into its new offices at the Bund Center in Shanghai. The consulate's opening hours remain the same: Monday to Friday 9 am to 12:30 pm and 2 to 4:30 pm. Hours vary for visa and passport services. The new offices are at Room 1701, Bund Center, 222 East Yan'an Road, Huangpu district, Shanghai; 021-6039-7500; e-mail: cg.shanghai@mfa.no.

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By the end of June, the Danish missions in China had issued almost 2,300 visas for both group tours and individual tourists, up 47 percent compared to the same period in 2011.

The rising number of tourist applications is mainly due to an increased cooperation between the Danish missions in China, the Scandinavian Tourist Board and the Chinese travel agencies, says the head of the visa department and consul in Beijing, Anja Pedersen.

Matt Erspamer contributed to this report.

Send embassy news to michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 07/22/2012 page5)