Qin

BEIJING -- A Chinese court sentenced a third democracy activist, Qin Yongmin, to prison yesterday as part of a major crackdown on the nation's first open, opposition party.Qin, 45, of the central Chinese city of Wuhan, received 12 years. He joins fellow party organizers Xu Wenli, who was sentenced to 13 years Monday, and Wang Youcai, who was given 11 years the same day.The three worked recently to establish the China Democracy Party, the first to challenge the communist regime since it came to power nearly 50 years ago.Their prosecutions are the most publicized in China since former NTC Tiananmen Square student leader Wang Dan was imprisoned in 1996.

Set in a mythic time and place, filled with glory and daring and action aplenty, Hero is a grand and exhilarating epic, a moviegoing experience of the first order. That its central figures are Chinese and that they speak Mandarin may keep some people away, but that's their loss. Set in pre-China China, when the seven warring states had yet to unite under a common leader, Hero glorifies a warrior who thinks equally with his head and his heart, and asks us to consider the benefits of such a balance, how rare and wonderful it is. It's also a rousing battle flick, filled with flaming arrows and martial arts mastery and swordsmen who can cut with the best of them.

The San Francisco Bay Blackhawks managed to do what the Maryland Bays couldn't, outshoot Albany on penalty kicks, 4-3, and win the American Professional Soccer League championship.In front of a home crowd of 12,411 in San Jose State Stadium, San Francisco used goals by Townsend Qin and Marcelo Balboa to even the finals at one game apiece, with a 2-0 victory in Game 2.It then was forced to out-shoot Albany on penalty kicks, when the 30-minute mini-game ended in a draw.For Albany it looked like a replay of the semifinal, where it had defeated the Maryland Bays.

Is it possible that music, like so many other things, cannot be entirely the same as it was before Sept. 11? I wondered about that over the weekend, listening to one program that made direct reference to the horrific events and another that unintentionally resonated with emotions left over from the devastation. The music itself had nothing to do with the terror and the tragedy, but sounded somehow more profound and important now. Even a piece by Bach written more than 281 years ago seemed to speak in a different way, to burrow more deeply into the senses.

HANOI, Vietnam - The Chinese government said today that two Chinese citizens with U.S. residency who were sentenced in Beijing to 10 years' imprisonment for espionage have been granted medical parole. A senior State Department official here said that one of them, Gao Zhan, a researcher at American University in Washington, was on a plane headed for the United States. The quick resolution of the cases of Gao and Qin Guangguang, who were tried and convicted Tuesday of spying for Taiwan, suggested that the Chinese government wanted to remove a source of contention with the United States before the arrival in Beijing on Saturday of Secretary of State Colin Powell.

BEIJING - While the two Chinese citizens with permanent residency in the United States who were convicted this week of spying won medical parole, a third person jailed in the case, Qu Wei, remains in a Beijing jail cell. Qu is a Chinese citizen and was sentenced Tuesday to 13 years in prison in the spying case, charged with providing photocopies to Gao Zhan, an American-based scholar, of speeches and magazine articles deemed state secrets. Qu reportedly is preparing an appeal, but few people expect it will win him his freedom.

XIAN, China -- China's first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, was so worried about his many enemies that he ordered workers to craft some 7,000 life-size terra-cotta soldiers to protect him in the afterlife.As President Clinton arrives in China's ancient capital today to begin a nine-day state visit that has become the most controversial of his presidency, he may feel equally besieged.Human rights advocates have accused Clinton of selling out American values by agreeing to attend a welcoming ceremony on Saturday across from Beijing's Tiananmen Square, site of the pro-democracy demonstration crushed by Chinese soldiers in 1989.

Q.In response to a recent letter about a young girl who was constantly talking out of turn at school: Would it help to suggest that the child write down what she feels compelled to spontaneously verbalize? The writing activity may not only prevent the negative "blurting out" behavior but may serve as reassurance that she can share her thoughts and feelings at a more appropriate time.A. What a great idea! Not only would it be a way for others to respect her thoughts and her spontaneity, but it would give her a chance to develop some control over her impulsiveness.

From the rocking impact of the Rolling Stones' "At the Max," which ended a 10-month run last weekend, the Maryland Science Center's "After Hours at IMAX" program becomes significantly quieter and more contemplative this weekend.The double-feature films "The First Emperor of China" and "Seasons" take viewers, respectively, on an opulent trip back into time and through a dreamy nature landscape. The bill opens tonight and runs at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; admission is $5.*"First Emperor," completed in 1989 as a co-production ofChina's National Film Board/ Xi'an Film Studio and the Canadian Museum of Civilization, diverges sharply from most films made to exploit the large-format IMAX process.

* Cordelia Borman, elected to office in Nebraska before women had the right to vote, died Sunday at age 101. She was elected superintendent of schools in 1916 in Sarpy County, just south of Omaha.* Herman George Kaiser, who fled Germany in 1938 and became a prominent, independent oil producer in Tulsa, died Wednesday. He was 88. Mr. Kaiser was a judge in Germany until the Nuremberg Laws in 1933 barred Jews from the bench. He fled to England in 1938 and came to the United States in 1940. He endowed the Kaiser Rehabilitation Center at Hillcrest Medical Center and the Kaiser Extended Health Care Facility at the Jewish Retirement Center, both in Tulsa.

BEIJING - While the two Chinese citizens with permanent residency in the United States who were convicted this week of spying won medical parole, a third person jailed in the case, Qu Wei, remains in a Beijing jail cell. Qu is a Chinese citizen and was sentenced Tuesday to 13 years in prison in the spying case, charged with providing photocopies to Gao Zhan, an American-based scholar, of speeches and magazine articles deemed state secrets. Qu reportedly is preparing an appeal, but few people expect it will win him his freedom.

HANOI, Vietnam - The Chinese government said today that two Chinese citizens with U.S. residency who were sentenced in Beijing to 10 years' imprisonment for espionage have been granted medical parole. A senior State Department official here said that one of them, Gao Zhan, a researcher at American University in Washington, was on a plane headed for the United States. The quick resolution of the cases of Gao and Qin Guangguang, who were tried and convicted Tuesday of spying for Taiwan, suggested that the Chinese government wanted to remove a source of contention with the United States before the arrival in Beijing on Saturday of Secretary of State Colin Powell.

BEIJING - Every Tuesday afternoon at 4 o'clock, a dozen citizens or more arrive at a gray brick building on the campus of Beijing Foreign Studies University and wait to be heard. Carrying sheaves of documents, photographs and sometimes their life stories, they file into an air-conditioned conference room one at a time and pour out their troubles to Wu Qing, a representative in Beijing's People's Congress, the city's parliament. Wu, who teaches American studies at the university, has been holding office hours for constituents since 1984.

BEIJING -- A Chinese court sentenced a third democracy activist, Qin Yongmin, to prison yesterday as part of a major crackdown on the nation's first open, opposition party.Qin, 45, of the central Chinese city of Wuhan, received 12 years. He joins fellow party organizers Xu Wenli, who was sentenced to 13 years Monday, and Wang Youcai, who was given 11 years the same day.The three worked recently to establish the China Democracy Party, the first to challenge the communist regime since it came to power nearly 50 years ago.Their prosecutions are the most publicized in China since former NTC Tiananmen Square student leader Wang Dan was imprisoned in 1996.

BEIJING -- In a sign that China's flirtation with political freedom may be off again, two organizers who attempted to form the nation's first opposition party will go on trial today in the most-watched political prosecutions in two years.Former student leader Wang Youcai and long-time activist Qin Yongmin face charges of subversion in separate proceedings in the cities of Wuhan and Hangzhou. Wang and Qin helped form the China Democracy Party this year and could face up to life in prison, if convicted.

Q.In response to a recent letter about a young girl who was constantly talking out of turn at school: Would it help to suggest that the child write down what she feels compelled to spontaneously verbalize? The writing activity may not only prevent the negative "blurting out" behavior but may serve as reassurance that she can share her thoughts and feelings at a more appropriate time.A. What a great idea! Not only would it be a way for others to respect her thoughts and her spontaneity, but it would give her a chance to develop some control over her impulsiveness.

Is it possible that music, like so many other things, cannot be entirely the same as it was before Sept. 11? I wondered about that over the weekend, listening to one program that made direct reference to the horrific events and another that unintentionally resonated with emotions left over from the devastation. The music itself had nothing to do with the terror and the tragedy, but sounded somehow more profound and important now. Even a piece by Bach written more than 281 years ago seemed to speak in a different way, to burrow more deeply into the senses.

BEIJING -- In a sign that China's flirtation with political freedom may be off again, two organizers who attempted to form the nation's first opposition party will go on trial today in the most-watched political prosecutions in two years.Former student leader Wang Youcai and long-time activist Qin Yongmin face charges of subversion in separate proceedings in the cities of Wuhan and Hangzhou. Wang and Qin helped form the China Democracy Party this year and could face up to life in prison, if convicted.

XIAN, China -- China's first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, was so worried about his many enemies that he ordered workers to craft some 7,000 life-size terra-cotta soldiers to protect him in the afterlife.As President Clinton arrives in China's ancient capital today to begin a nine-day state visit that has become the most controversial of his presidency, he may feel equally besieged.Human rights advocates have accused Clinton of selling out American values by agreeing to attend a welcoming ceremony on Saturday across from Beijing's Tiananmen Square, site of the pro-democracy demonstration crushed by Chinese soldiers in 1989.

* Cordelia Borman, elected to office in Nebraska before women had the right to vote, died Sunday at age 101. She was elected superintendent of schools in 1916 in Sarpy County, just south of Omaha.* Herman George Kaiser, who fled Germany in 1938 and became a prominent, independent oil producer in Tulsa, died Wednesday. He was 88. Mr. Kaiser was a judge in Germany until the Nuremberg Laws in 1933 barred Jews from the bench. He fled to England in 1938 and came to the United States in 1940. He endowed the Kaiser Rehabilitation Center at Hillcrest Medical Center and the Kaiser Extended Health Care Facility at the Jewish Retirement Center, both in Tulsa.