JINAN Cool Base Ryan Zimmerman Jersey , Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- East China's Shandong Province has established 150 centers in both rural and urban areas to promote fine traditional culture since 2014, said the provincial culture department.
The centers in libraries, officially called Nishan Academies, have lecture halls and reading rooms for Confucian classics. The centers aim to pass on traditional culture as there is a social need for learning the classics, said Liu Xianshi, an official with the Department of Culture of the provincial government.
Special textbooks for the learning centers will be compiled to cater to different groups of people, according to the department.
Confucius (551-479 BC), an educator and philosopher, founded Confucianism, a school of thought that deeply influenced later generations. He was also the first Chinese person to set up private schools and enroll students from all walks of life. Nishan in Qufu City, Shandong, is the birthplace of Confucius.
The ideas of Confucius, including rule by virtue, self-discipline in appeasing others and harmony in diversity, have been central to personal, family and social life in China.
Confucianism is seeing a revival as China draws on its traditional culture and develops its vision, concepts, values and ethics to make them keep pace with the times.
Shandong has multiple Confucianism research institutes. Nearly 10,000 villages have a teacher of Confucianism in the province.
" Steve Wynn, Chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 3, 2017.
Casino mogul Steve Wynn resigned Saturday as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee amid allegations of sexual harassment and assault.
Wynn has been a prolific Republican donor and led the RNC’s fundraising efforts during President Donald Trump’s first year, helping the committee rake in more than $130 million.
“Today I accepted Steve Wynn’s resignation as Republican National Committee finance chair,” said RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that a number of women said they were harassed or assaulted by Wynn, the chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts. Wynn has denied the allegations. One case led to a $7.5 million settlement with a manicurist, the newspaper reported.
Wynn confirmed his resignation in a statement released Saturday. “The unbelievable success we have achieved must continue. The work we are doing to make America a better place is too important to be impaired by this distraction,” Wynn said.
Wynn was chosen by Trump to lead the RNC’s fundraising effort, and he contributed more than $600,000 to GOP causes last year, according to the Federal Election Commission.
A person with direct knowledge of the situation said Trump had signed off on the decision for Wynn to resign. The person was not authorized to share private discussions and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Since 2013, Wynn has contributed nearly $2.4 million to GOP candidates and party organizations around the country, including 2017 special election winners as well as dozens of state Republican Party committees.
The allegations against Wynn have come during a wave of sexual misconduct claims against prominent media, entertainment and political figures that gained momentum last fall after the emergence of detailed allegations of rape and harassment involving movie producer Harvey Weinstein.
During the fall, RNC officials, including McDaniel, noted that Weinstein had been a top donor for Democrats, including 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
In early October, McDaniel tweeted that if the Democratic National Committee “truly stands up for women like they say they do, then returning Weinstein’s dirty money should be a no-brainer.”
The RNC has not yet said whether it will return any money donated by Wynn.
Wynn was among the organizers of Trump’s fundraiser last week at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to celebrate the anniversary of the inauguration. Trump was unable to attend because of the federal government shutdown. Wynn also helped put together high-dollar events in Dallas last October and New York City in December.
Trump, addressing Nevada supporters in February 2016, praised Wynn as a “great friend of mine.”
“Steve is always calling. He’s always got advice. Right, Steve? ‘Donald, I think you ought to do this and that,’” Trump said at the time. “His advice, I like to listen to, I’ll be honest with you.”
Members of the Republican National Committee are gathering in Washington next week and are expected to approve a new finance chair. The next chair will be voted on after the recommendation of Trump and McDaniel.
(Agencies)
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BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A century-old Chinesecf a tightening financial clean-up in the world's second largest economy.
China's banking regulator has fined Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC), along with 11 other related banks, a total of 295 million yuan (about 46 million U.S. dollars) over a bill fraud case in the northwestern province of Gansu.
Probes into a PSBC sub-branch in Wuwei City in December found 7.9 billion yuan worth of bills were involved and another 3 billion yuan of wealth management funds were illegally drawn or embezzled, according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).
It was the third major penalty on domestic lenders since December, following a 462-million-yuan fine imposed on a branch of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank for illegally covering up bad loans and a 722-million-yuan fine for China Guangfa Bank for offering illegal guarantees for defaulted corporate bonds.