Danwei Noon Report is a daily roundup of new and old media coverage about China from Chinese and English sources. Today's report includes contributions from David Drakeford.

The director in Venice

The Chinese movie "Sanxia Haoren," (三峡好人) or "Still Life," on Saturday took this year's Golden Lion, the top award at the Venice Film Festival.

The award to Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke's film was unexpected, and trumped such candidates for the top award as Emilio Estevez' "Bobby," about the assassination of Robert Kennedy, and Stephen Frear's "The Queen," about the week that followed Princess Diana's death. (Link, image from same source)

Jia previous films have Amazingly enough, the award has not yet earned Jia a condemnation or banning order from SARFT.

Jia became well known to China cinaphiles and art movie buffs after his first film Xiao Wu or 'Pickpocket'.

New old rules: no foreign news services for China's media
From the Financial Times:

Xinhua, Beijing’s official news agency, on Sunday issued rules demanding international counterparts censor news and information distributed in China and barring them from dealing directly with local clients.

The rules, which take effect immediately, mark a dramatic resumption of Xinhua’s efforts to regulate the Chinese operations of rival foreign news agencies tightly.

They appear to pose a serious threat to the China businesses of agencies such as Reuters, Dow Jones and Bloomberg, and could limit Chinese financial institutions’ timely access to market-moving news and data.

However, it is unclear how forcefully Xinhua will be able to implement its new regime (link, see also IHT story).

For informed comment on these new old new regulations, see Silicon Hutong: Xinhua: Trying to Save a Dying Monopoly.

Media will be free to roam during Olympics, pledges Beijing
The Guardian reports remarks from a U.K. Olympic official:

"I believe that once we establish freedom in this way, even after the delegates and the athletes have gone home, China won't reverse it and the Games will have a lasting legacy of opening China to the world" (link).

NGO plans gay research awards
The Shanghai Daily reports:

A Hong Kong-based non-governmental organization will launch China's first financial awards for research on homosexuality next year as part of its efforts to eliminate discrimination against gay people...

...China is estimated to be home to 20 million to 30 million gay people. But there are no more than 30 researchers who specialize in the subject across China, according to the foundation. (Link)

Wife gets death sentence for murdering husband who asked for divorce
From the Horse's Mouth blog:

Shanghai's No. 1 Intermediate court sentenced Danlei Chen, 29, to death with a two-year reprieve on Monday, the People's Daily newspaper said. Such sentences are routinely commuted to life in prison if the inmate is cooperative...

..."When we quarreled fiercely, I wanted to kill him and then commit suicide," Chen was quoted as telling the court by the Shanghai Daily. "I didn't want a divorce and I was scared of getting a divorce. I couldn't bear it."

Chen told the court she bought a gun for $300 on Aug. 18, 2005, and shot her husband in the back of the head on the morning of Aug. 20 after he insisted on a divorce. (Link)