Hit Chinese shows gain popularity in overseas markets
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 04, 2023
Due to the rising popularity of Chinese content in recent years, TrueID – a Thai online video platform – set up a dedicated Chinese television section.
Komin Aoudomphan went to great lengths to discover the reason for a bomb explosion on a bus in the Chinese suspense series Reset.
He spent a day and a night going without sleep to view the 15-episode drama in Bangkok earlier this year when it became a hit in Thailand.
“All my friends talked about the plots. The lead actor and actress in the series are charming and attractive,” said Aoudomphan, who works at TrueID, a popular online video platform in Thailand.
TrueID introduced Reset to Thailand from China at the start of this year.
The series depicts the journey of a college student and a game designer who are stuck in a “time loop” as they determine the truth behind the bomb explosion on the bus, which kills all passengers aboard. The series has garnered more than 2 billion views in China and is also hugely successful in Thailand.
Due to the rising popularity of Chinese content in recent years, TrueID set up a dedicated Chinese television section last month featuring dozens of popular series.
Wang Shuang, who is in charge of the overseas market at WeTV, an international version of the leading Chinese streaming platform Tencent Video, said, “Chinese content is gaining popularity not only in Thailand but throughout Southeast Asia.”
According to Wang, demand for Chinese dramas has soared in Southeast Asia in recent years, especially in Thailand, where Chinese series have edged out those from South Korea, followed by series from Japan, the United States and European countries.
WeTV has been downloaded about 150 million times globally. About 30 million downloads are from Thailand, a country with a population of less than 70 million.
Lu Di, a professor at Peking University’s School of Journalism and Communication, said: “Thailand is a very mature market for Chinese dramas. The country is close to China geographically and people from the two nations share many similarities in daily life and culture. Communication and exchanges between China and Thailand have been taking place since the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220).”
The rising popularity of Chinese series elsewhere in Asia is largely due to streaming platforms attracting young people, who form the majority audience for these dramas overseas, Lu added.
Exports boom
Exports of Chinese TV series have returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to a report on the international distribution of such dramas issued by the National Radio and Television Administration in November.
Last year, the export value of television series was $56.83 million and China exported 714 TV dramas during this time. Southeast Asia is the core market for these dramas, accounting for one-third of the series that are exported.
The report also said that female audiences from Asia, especially those born after the 1990s and 2000s, comprise the majority of people who enjoy watching Chinese series.
Wang, from WeTV, said its subscribers are mostly women younger than 30. Many of them are attracted by Chinese costume romances, a popular genre in the nation’s showbiz industry.
The Chinese costume drama Who Rules the World, starring Yang Yang and Zhao Lusi, became a sensation in Thailand after airing on WeTV in May. It tells of the love story between a young woman and a man competing with each other in martial arts who finally fight against the world together. The romantic drama received hundreds of millions of views.
The most popular Chinese stars in Thailand, including Yang Yang, Xiao Zhan, Yang Mi and Dilraba Dilmurat, also often play the leading roles in popular costume romances.
Wang said, “We really hope to bring these stars to Thailand for their adoring fans to meet them,” adding that previously, pandemic policies made it impossible for Thai fans to meet their favoured stars.
In 2019, when WeTV held an offline event at a shopping centre in Bangkok that featured two leading actors from a Chinese romance series, fans packed the centre, Wang said.
“There were so many people. It was very impressive. The two Chinese stars were not that popular at home, but because they played protagonists in the romance series, the Thai people loved it so much,” Wang added.
This series, Put Your Head on My Shoulder, is a small production that relates the love story between a young man and a woman who have just graduated from college. It was the first Chinese drama introduced to Thailand by WeTV.
Many popular Chinese dramas have since been introduced by the streaming platform, which in 2019 formed a team of about 30 people in Bangkok.
“Although we couldn’t organize offline promotional activities after 2020 due to the pandemic, our subscriber numbers have grown steadily each year,” Wang said.
Other leading Chinese online video platforms such as iQiyi, Youku and Mango TV have also launched overseas services and have chosen Thailand as a key location to run their businesses.
In June 2019, iQiyi launched its international version and focused on introducing the love series to the Southeast Asian market. Mango TV said it was setting up a Southeast Asian communications centre to support its overseas market after cooperating with the national TV broadcaster in Laos.
According to a report issued by Media Partners Asia, WeTV accounts for 22 % of the streaming market in Thailand, while Netflix comprises 24 %. However, Wang said they still need to cooperate with their Chinese counterparts to improve the popularity of Chinese series.
“I think we (Chinese streaming platforms) should cooperate in actively promoting Chinese dramas, in order for them to reach a wider audience overseas. We are still on the road to cooperating, rather than competing with each other,” Wang said.
Joint efforts
In addition to introducing domestic series to overseas markets, more Chinese platforms and companies are producing local content by working with teams in Southeast Asia.
For example, WeTV has produced the Thai campus romance Love Mechanics, the melodramaThe Wife, as well as the second season of the Indonesian hit My Lecture, My Husband. The Layangan Putus series in Indonesia, which tells the story of a couple enjoying a harmonious and loving relationship, has garnered hundreds of millions of views.
Explaining the idea to make original content starring local celebrities and cast members, Wang said: “We try to resonate with local communities. When people use our app to access original local material, they can also choose Chinese content that we provide.”
For Century UU, a distributor and producer based in Tianjin, producing dramas with a Thai team to target audiences in China and Thailand is a good opportunity to meet future demand.
Century UU bought the copyrights for three popular South Korean series and produced them in Thailand with local teams. The series, which has aired in China and Thailand in the past two years, has received good reviews.
Li Fude, the founder of Century UU, said, “It’s very convenient and easy to integrate all the resources we need to produce such originals, and it’s not as expensive as shooting them in China.”
When the company was established in 2012, it mainly introduced Thai TV dramas to China and distributed other Chinese series overseas. After years of working with its partners in Thailand, it has found new opportunities to cooperate with partners overseas in jointly producing original material.
Li said, “We make tailored content that takes into account the tastes of audiences from different nations.”
For instance, his team added many elements related to Thai food to a romance series.
To improve its original productions, the company set up a shooting area equipped with high technology.
Century UU changed its distribution strategy this year. It dropped the practice of distributing one series through a single partner. Instead, it now provides a package of series.
For example, the dedicated Chinese TV section at TrueID is cooperating with Li’s company. The section includes different types of Chinese dramas, such as costume series and modern productions, to showcase just how vivid Chinese culture is.
“This is a good way of offering more choices to audiences overseas,” Li said.
His company is also one of the leading Chinese content providers on YouTube. It has more than 27 million subscribers and covers 13 languages. The number of subscribers from Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Arab countries has surpassed 1 million in each location.
Li said that in recent years, apart from the core market in Southeast Asia, the number of subscribers in Arab nations has risen quickly, and their favourites are modern series that tell romantic stories about young Chinese.
According to the report published by the National Radio and Television Administration in November, Arab nations are becoming an extremely important market for Chinese dramas. Historical series and modern dramas are favoured by these audiences.
This month, the Arabic version of the popular Chinese series Minning Town, which tells the story of poverty being eliminated in a rural village, aired in many Arab countries.
Ma Ning, the founder of Wisdom House International Culture Communication Group, which dubbed Minning Town in Arabic, said, “This year marks the rise of Chinese dramas in the Arab world, especially after the release of Minning Town.
“People in Arab nations want to know the secret of China’s success through its dramas.”
Work in Europe done says Ronaldo as player is presented at Al Nassr
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 04, 2023
THE NATION
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo said his “work is done” in Europe, adding that he is relishing new challenges both on and off the pitch after being unveiled as a player of Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr on Tuesday (January 3).
Ronaldo, who was a free agent following his acrimonious split with Manchester United in November, joined Al Nassr last week on a 2-1/2 year deal estimated by media to be worth more than 200 million euros ($210.94 million).
He was greeted by a sea of yellow and blue at Al Nassr’s home ground Mrsool Park, where thousands of fans turned up to witness his unveiling.
Ronaldo arrives in Saudi Arabia with a vast collection of club honours after a glittering spell at Spanish giants Real Madrid from 2009-18 where he won two LaLiga titles, two Spanish Cups, four Champions League titles and three Club World Cups.
He also claimed two Serie A titles and a Copa Italia trophy in three years at Juventus before rejoining United with whom he had bagged three Premier League crowns, the FA Cup, two League Cups, the Champions League and Club World Cup.
New Al Nassr signing Cristiano Ronaldo during training with teammates
“I’m so proud to make this big decision in my life. In Europe, my work is done,” Ronaldo told a news conference.
“I won everything, I played in the most important clubs in Europe and now it’s a new challenge in Asia.”
The 37-year-old batted away questions about criticism of his move to Saudi Arabia, saying, “I’m a unique player as well so for me it’s normal.”
Al Nassr coach Rudi Garcia said the signing of Ronaldo was a huge step for the Saudi Arabian league.
“Cristiano is one of the best players in the world and in the history of football. He is a legend, it is an honor for sure for me but also for Al Nassr to welcome Cristiano,” Garcia told reporters.
Al Nassr president Mossali Al Muammar was also effusive in his praise of Ronaldo, calling him the “best player in football history.”
Ronaldo receives rapturous welcome from Al Nassr fans
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 04, 2023
THE NATION
Cristiano Ronaldo received a rapturous welcome from 25,000 fans at a packed Mrsool Park in Riyadh after being presented as an Al Nassr player
The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract to play in the Saudi Pro League in one of the most surprising transfers in the sport’s history.
Speaking at a news conference earlier, Ronaldo revealed he turned down multiple offers from elsewhere in the world.
“In Europe my work is done. I won everything and played for the most important clubs in Europe and for me now it’s a new challenge,” Ronaldo said.
The 37-year-old added he wanted “to give a different vision” of Saudi Arabia.
The soccer great, who has won five Ballon d’Or awards for the best player in the world and five Champions League titles, will play outside of Europe for the first time in his storied career.
Ronaldo has agreed a deal reportedly worth up to US$200 million a year — making him the highest paid soccer player in history.
Food loss and waste are huge problems that should be minimized. It is important that people should take action to promote their awareness against food waste and form healthy consumption behaviour, writes a veteran journalist with China Daily.
“Eating simple food and in moderate quantity” has become a popular mantra for many Chinese people, while high-calorie intake and excessive eating have become a social problem, forcing many people to go on a diet to control their weight.
While having lunch with colleagues in the China Daily canteen, I often see people picking just a sweet potato or an orange and leaving the canteen which serves more than a dozen dishes, including dumplings, noodles, cakes and soups. Then there are those that are not seen in the canteen in the daytime because they deliberately skip lunch.
Even at home, we have decided to reduce the four-dish dinner to a three-dish dinner because there was always food left over. As a person who grew up in poverty and knows what hunger is, I hate to waste food.
Last year’s statistics show that more than 50 % of Chinese people above the age of 18 are overweight. As a result, over 40 % of Chinese people have an abnormal lipid profile and 60 % have or need to guard against diabetes.
Excess calorie intake is the main reason behind the rising levels of cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes cases. To control their weight, many people either go on a diet, hit the gym, seek a doctor’s advice, or begin to play some sports to burn the excess calorie.
My family and I have taken all three measures. After a simple dinner, we take both Western and traditional Chinese medicines before going out for a walk for an hour or so. If it’s raining or very cold, we go to an indoor swimming pool to swim.
If we can control our weight, our lipid profile can be normal or close to normal. Trying to check my weight, I very often miss my “good old days” half a century ago when the supply of rice, cooking oil, meat and eggs was rationed. Since the food was rationed, people got a limited amount of food and therefore ate simple food in moderate quantity and hence did not have to worry about becoming overweight.
In the first two decades of my life, I didn’t have enough to eat. Then for the next three to four decades, I had plenty of food thanks to China’s economic boom. Now, I have perforce reduced my diet. The difference is that during my childhood and early youth, my longing for food was a compulsion — due to the country’s development level — while now “eating little and simple” is my own choice.
While excess calorie intake is believed to be the main reason behind the rising number of overweight people, including children, many nutritionists say that imbalanced nutrition pattern plays a big role in people gaining weight.
Their suggestion is to reduce the use of oil, salt and sugar in cooking, minimize the intake of meat and eggs, and eat more vegetables, fruits and coarse cereals. China Daily’s canteen has been serving food on the basis of this principle, although some colleagues have complained about the “bland, tasteless” food served in the canteen.
Rural areas have their own problem. While excess calorie intake has become a big problem for urban residents, many rural residents including better-off villagers in China’s eastern and southern coast are battling undernutrition.
China eradicated absolute poverty just two years ago. The poverty line — set at about 5,000 yuan ($724) per rural resident per year — may be enough to provide protection against hunger, but not enough to prevent undernutrition in some families that don’t earn that much.
Although the government has taken measures to help rural children by providing free lunches for them, the quality of the food needs to be improved to ensure students get sufficient nutrition, as well as prevent villagers from slipping back into poverty.
With increasing awareness of eating healthy and with the consistent support of the government, hopefully, excessive calorie intake, as well as undernutrition, will soon become things of the past.
Online platform helps owners find their missing pets
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 04, 2023
A new online platform is using data analytics to help owners locate their missing pets.
The “i Found Pet” platform, which is available on Line application, was launched in June 2022 by a cat lover who goes by the name “Visanu”. Currently, ‘“i Found Pet” has 2,651 members who have registered 2,021 pets.
Registrants of “i Found Pet” can post an alert if their pet goes missing by providing information on the animal and where it was last seen. The platform will check its database of registered pets for matching description in case the missing pet has been adopted by another member.
If the pet is not in the database, the platform will send an alert to members in nearby areas, to increase the chance of the lost pet being found.
Visanu revealed that so far the platform has received 1,676 cases of missing pets and has successfully found and returned 357 pets to their worried owners.
He added that members can also get a QR code to be attached to their pet’s collar, so that finders can scan and the platform can notify that this animal belongs to someone who has reported a missing pet, or that it’s just out on a stroll. The owner will also receive a notification of location every time the QR code is scanned.
The platform also has several useful features, including a message board for pet owners where they can share photos of their beloved babies, and a calendar that alerts them when it is time to take their pet to the vet.
Visanu said he was targeting at least 100,000 members to maximise the coverage and increase the chances of missing pets being found before something bad happens.
For more information and registration, head to ifoundpet.com
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New Al Nassr signing Cristiano Ronaldo during training with teammates
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