BEIJING // In the heart of Beijing's bustling central business district stand the dreams of Chinese manga. Several stories high, wrapped in steel and glass, lies part of China's aspirations to turn the most populous nation into a world-class animation centre.
"It is all fake," said Lu Ming, a 26-year-old animator sitting in his room littered with transformer toys, guitars and sketches.
The Chinese Communist Party is putting millions into the animation industry, having said it will invest 24 million yuan annually (Dh12.9m) for four years into development. But China's most successful comic artists see little of the funds and many buildings remain empty.
Mr Lu is one of the most respected comic book artists in China. His work is known internationally and in the underground movement on the mainland. He is now trying to publish his latest title in his homeland but is doubtful he will succeed. His work, though mostly apolitical, is deemed too sensitive by publishing houses.
Mr Lu is part of a growing group of manga artists that falls between communist party thinking and new capitalist interests. His work is considered unsuitable by the state, and not commercial enough for companies gaining state investments looking to mimic the Japanese business model.
During the 2008 Beijing Olympics he was commissioned by Adidas to produce billboards celebrating the Games. "That was just work. Not my real passion," he said, putting down the original pencil sketch.
Mr Lu wants to tell contemporary Chinese stories. Tales of woe or of dark anti-heroes on the fringes of Chinese society. His latest work is the tale of an adolescent who turns away from crime, inspired by Bruce Lee.
Comic books are on the rise in China. But while the comic book fans are happy, the artists are not. Artists such as Mr Lu focus on selling work to international markets. But despite the injection of government funds, he said, they would struggle to compete with Japanese comics, which are saturating the market through the internet.
"A lot has to do with the government policy," said Spencer Douglas from an animation company in Hong Kong.
"It is unlikely that anyone would like to publish something which is boundary-pushing, and if they did they would probably get shut down pretty quickly."
It is an indication of the complexities of censorship in China.
"It is not because it is against the government or for the government. It is about ideas. Like Batman Begins. The government permitted that movie. It is a simple story between good and evil. But Batman's The Dark Knight is more complicated, so the government censored it in China," Mr Lu said.
According to the institute of comic books, manga, known as manhua in Mandarin, has a combined distribution of three million titles a month, far smaller than markets in neighbouring Japan where manga outsell newspapers. Only 10 per cent of manga in the mainland is produced by home-grown artists. Entrepreneurs are looking at the size of the population and thinking of the potential profit.
"I think the money goes to businessmen that say that they are going to invest in animation, but they do not," says Benjamin, sitting across a table looking at his hands.
He is a leading comic book artist, more famous in Europe than he is in China.
Indeed, Benjamin last month became the first Chinese artist to produce a front cover for Marvel Comics. But, again, that work will never be shown in the mainland.
It is about the spread of ideas, Mr Lu said. A comic does not need to be anti-government to be restricted from being printed; it simply needs to offer ideas that could be interpreted as being so. In essence, the world's next super power is not keen on super heroes.
The first Chinese comics were used as propaganda during the Japanese occupation as a way to build resentment.
During Mao's 10-year Cultural Revolution, manga was used to teach communist ideals to the largely illiterate masses.
"We want to export our own culture," said Zheng Jun, the rock star turned writer behind the comic Tibetan Rock Dog, which is gaining interest from the Japanese animation company Mad House towards turning it into a movie.
As China continues to export its own culture, it could be used as part of the nation's soft power, Mr Douglas said.
The Chinese government's official policy is to restrict the amount of Japanese manga coming into China, an indication of the national rivalry that still exists between the two nations.
But it is likely that Japanese manga will continue to rise in popularity in China.
Part of the problem is the meek image of comics in China. They are seen as childish, said Cheng Cheng, an animator behind Tibetan Rock Dog.
* The National
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6
Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm
Torque: 410Nm at 3,500rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Fuel consumption: 10.2 l/100km
Price: Dh375,000
On sale: now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Stage 2
1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix 4:18:30
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:06
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:06
4. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:06
5. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:08
SPECS
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Price: from Dh498,542
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
If you go...
Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.
Previous men's records
- 2:01:39: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) on 16/9/19 in Berlin
- 2:02:57: Dennis Kimetto (KEN) on 28/09/2014 in Berlin
- 2:03:23: Wilson Kipsang (KEN) on 29/09/2013 in Berlin
- 2:03:38: Patrick Makau (KEN) on 25/09/2011 in Berlin
- 2:03:59: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 28/09/2008 in Berlin
- 2:04:26: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 30/09/2007 in Berlin
- 2:04:55: Paul Tergat (KEN) on 28/09/2003 in Berlin
- 2:05:38: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 14/04/2002 in London
- 2:05:42: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 24/10/1999 in Chicago
- 2:06:05: Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) 20/09/1998 in Berlin
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The%20specs
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
How do Sim card scams work?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards by claiming to be the victim, often pretending their phone has been lost or stolen in order to secure a new Sim.
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
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Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
