Religion is at the top of many people's thoughts this week--particularly with the celebration of Rosh Hashana and the beginning of Ramadan--and faith leaders are taking a more prominent role in politics and environmental causes too. Forty-five interfaith leaders met with Iran's president last week while others were convening a symposium on global warming. More on those stories in today's news section, along with an article on the re-opening of a Ugandan national park and concerns over Beijing's 'clean up' ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games.
In analysis, a U.S. civil rights leader says a potential new law would make it harder--not easier--for Americans to vote, and we get some practical insight into living simply. In features, the CEO of a major environmental group remembers seven of his colleagues who were killed in a helicopter crash in the Nepalese Himalayas this weekend. Plus, a playwright puts genocide on the agenda and we check progress on a 'New Deal' plan for rural India.
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Comments: 4
"The Chinese capital did change its name but Chinese words became spelled in English differently. In Chinese, the name stayed exactly the same and most Chinese people are not even aware that some Westerners think that there has been a name change. The old spelling has been Peking, this is how the city appeared in most earlier discourse.
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the government adopted the pinyin transliteration method and used this to write all of the proper names (including place names, people's names, etc) using the Latin alphabet.
Theoretically, this was when Peking became known in the West as Beijing. In reality, however, the West has been using the old spelling long after it has been replaced in China. It is only sometime in the 1980s that China started to enforce its official name on all flights, sea routes and official documents.
This is why the name Peking is still echoing in our minds and people continue to use it even today. Needless to say, it is easier to pronounce than Beijing, which is an important factor too.