Monday, November 1, 2010

Cautious about any organized religion - Zhang Lijia


The Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion and Mer...
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Celebrity writer and non-believer Zhang Lijia explains her attitude towards Buddhism, and religion in a rather personal interview with ExpressBuzz. I'm cautious about any organized religions, she explains.
Like most skeptics, she asks where God was when the most destructive earthquake in the 20th century took place in Tangshan, China, on July 28, 1976. More than two lakh people died, including Lijia’s cousin. “If there is a God how could He allow such things to happen? Why is He so cruel? Why does He allow good people to die like this?”
Lijia says that when you look at the concept of God rationally, there is no evidence that He exists. One reason for Lijia’s doubts is because Communism was forced down the throat of the people for many decades. “As a result I am cautious about blindly believing in any organised religion,” she says. But thanks to her curiosity, she has read many religious books including the Bible. “I find it difficult to believe in the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary,” she says. “It lacks logic.”
More in ExpressBuzz.


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4Zhang Lijia by Fantake via Flickr

Zhang Lijia is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need her for your meeting or conference, do get in touch.

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Saturday, October 9, 2010

My quest for personal and political freedom - Zhang Lijia

4Zhang Lijia by Fantake via Flickr
Celebrity author Zhang Lijia tells in Expressbuzz.com how her now famous book "Socialism is great" came into being. She was still a factory girl in a plant producing rockets:
It was in the factory that she started to write. She also began to study English. It opened her mind to the world outside. A few years later, she embarked on a career as a journalist. And one day, she happened to meet Peter Hessler, an American author and journalist. They became friends. “Once, during lunch, I accidentally mentioned to Peter that I had worked in a missile factory,” says Lijia. “He looked surprised. Peter probably thought that I came from a wealthier background, and was better educated.”
Peter asked Lijia whether she could write a piece for the Asian Wall Street Journal, for which he contributed. Her piece was published in December 2000. “When my friends read it, they said, ‘Why don’t you write a book’?” says Lijia. She did some research and discovered that there were very few books set in China in the 1980s....
Lijia says that China has changed enormously. “Not many people know that the ordinary citizen now enjoys so much personal freedom,” she says. “They can choose their own lifestyles, and select where they want to live. However, there is still a cage. But for many, the cage has grown so big that they simply don’t feel the limit. But I don’t see any major democracy movement coming up in the near future.”
More in Expressbuzz.
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Zhang Lijia is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch.



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Friday, August 13, 2010

Zhang Lijia to visit Kovalam festival in India

Lijia-india2Zhang Lijia in India Fantake via Flickr
Celebrity author Zhang Lijia of the novel "Socialism Is Great!": A Worker's Memoir of the New Chinawill be attending the Kovalam literary festival in India in the fest week of October, local media announced here and here. Last she also visited the literary festival in India last year.
Zhang Lijia's novel is fast getting an international audience, as she will be in Brazil in September to promote her book in Portuguese. A documentary about Zhang is now being made in Italy.
Zhang also contributed to the book by the China Speakers Bureau, A Changing China

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Zhang Lijia is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting, conference or festival? Do get in touch.
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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

July edition of our newsletter is due

Lijia Zhang photograph by Philip McMaster_0233Zhang Lijia        via Flickr
Should we bother you with China and our speakers' bureau in the sweltering heat of the summer, we were thinking at the global offices of the China Speakers Bureau. Well, here in Europe temperature dropped this week actually dramatically, so we decided to have a go with our newsletter for July 2010. The July edition will include announcements about the upcoming military build-up of China and the US and the possible confrontation between both powers that our military expert Wendell Minnick expects for the second half of this year.
Otherwise, many of the growing pains that go along with China's economic development: Paul French's new book Fat China on obesity, increasing complaints by foreign companies who are working in China and our star speaker Zhang Lijia, who is preparing for a book tour to celebrate the publication of her book in Portuguese. Do register here for the newsletter at the right-top corner here when you want to get our updates on a monthly basis.

Update: Our July newsletter is now available here. When you subscribe to our newsletter (right-top) do not forget to check your spam filter for the confirmation email.

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Sunday, July 11, 2010

September book tour in Brazil - Zhang Lijia

ZhanglijiaImage by Fantake via Flickr
Our celebrity speaker Zhang Lijia is preparing for her next book tour, this time for her Portuguese translation of "Socialism Is Great!": A Worker's Memoir of the New China". She will be in Brazil from August 29 till September 16, starting off in Rio de Janeiro and the last few days in Sao Paolo.
For a Brazilian audience that would be an unique chance to share Zhang Lijia's profound insights in the Chinese society, and not many of our speakers make it to South America. When you are interested in having her as a speaker, do get in touch. 


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