North Shore News publisher Peter Kvarnstrom picks up a mock-up of the weekly Chinese edition, which makes its debut July 5. photo Cindy Goodman, North Shore News
The North Shore News has launched a new weekly Chinese edition of the paper.
Starting today (July 5), you will see our familiar front page on the racks with our stories reproduced in simplified Chinese characters.
Once a week, our editor will curate a list of stories that have already run in the North Shore News and send them to Rise Media’s professional translators to be written and for layout. The focus will be on community events, civic news, education, dining, entertainment, and arts and culture.
Every Thursday, 2,500 copies will be delivered to racks at convenient locations throughout the community including the West Vancouver Memorial Library, Gleneagles Community Centre, Caulfeild Village Shopping Centre Safeway, North Shore Multicultural Society and Loblaws City Market at Park Royal North.
According to the last census, nearly 5,000 West Vancouver residents speak Mandarin as their mother tongue – 12.2 per cent of the population. In North Vancouver, there are close to 3,000 Mandarin-speaking residents.
“Over the past decades we have seen a significant growth in immigration from mainland China. Many of these new immigrants have chosen to settle in West Vancouver and North Vancouver,” said publisher Peter Kvarnstrom. “These new residents are keenly interested in integrating into our community and are looking for information in a format that they can easily understand. This really is an issue of accessibility for many of our newest residents. We hope that our initiative will, in a small way, pave the way to greater understanding and greater engagement with our communities.”
The Chinese edition will also be a new avenue for businesses to reach the growing Asian community here.
“I am delighted to be part of this new and exciting publication,” said orthodontist Paul Pocock, owner of Smiles by Pocock in Lower Lonsdale. “We previously have had interpreters in our office who helped service our local Asian community. We welcome this newspaper as another way we can reach out and connect.”
