PROFESSOR MAKES BREAKTHROUGH IN MATHS

　　Chen Xiuxiong， a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China， has solved two problems that confounded mathematicians for over two decades. He has resolved the Hamilton-Tian Conjecture and partial C0-estimate for Kahler-Einstein metrics with his colleague and student Wang Bing.
　　It took fi ve years for the two professors to write their essay， which is over 120 pages， and another six years to review their work. It was recently published in the Journal of Differential Geometry， a peer-reviewed scientific journal of mathematics published by the International Press on behalf of Lehigh University in the U.S.
　　Chen， a leading fi gure in complex geometry who has made fundamental contributions to the fi eld， won the New York-based Simons Foundation Award in 2019. The foundation was established in 1994 to advance research in mathematics and the basic sciences.
　　A PhD from the University of Pennsylvania， Chen has been with the University of Science and Technology of China since 2002.

Protecting Minors From Tobacco

　　Beijing Youth Daily November 4
　　The newly revised Law on the Protection of Minors， which will take effect on June 1， 2021， makes remarkable progress in protecting minors from tobacco use. It forbids the sale of cigarettes， including electronic cigarettes， to the underage. Cigarette shops are not to be allowed near places where minors are present in large numbers， including schools and kindergartens.
　　It is the fi rst time that electronic cigarettes have been included in a national law. Many minors are seen vaping e-cigarettes that harm both their growth and health， which made policymakers address the issue.
　　Besides reducing minors’ exposure to cigarettes， the law is also a good start for other national laws and local regulations to ban ecigarettes. It encourages people， companies and policymakers to reach a consensus on the harm caused by e-cigarettes.
　　Although the media has disseminated information about the harmful effects of e-cigarettes， people still use them， even though many products are substandard.
　　Other laws related to tobacco monopoly should be consistent with the Law on the Protection of Minors and provide more detailed and practical provisions. Local governments need to improve policies according to the revised law to ensure its effective enforcement.
　　Besides， economic policies should be adjusted accordingly. For example， the e-cigarette industry needs to control production and regulate marketing and promotional activities.

Monitoring the Entire Cold Food Chain

　　People.com.cn November 8
　　On November 8， a cold storage worker in Tianjin， north China， was confirmed to have the novel coronavirus disease （COVID-19） and the virus was also detected on a door handle of the storage.
　　Moreover， there were reports from the cities of Dezhou in east China and Taiyuan in the north that the outer packagings of imported frozen food sent from Tianjin were also detected to have the virus on November 7.
　　Tianjin has responded promptly， sealing the cold storage and testing people and the surrounding areas.
　　With regular prevention and control measures followed， governments at all levels have shown commendable performance in reining in sporadic outbreaks in Qingdao， Shandong Province in east China， and Dalian， Liaoning Province in northeast China. However， the packaging of imported food showing the presence of the virus means the problem remains.
　　Since July， there were several cases of the virus being found on the packaging of frozen food. However， if environmental monitoring can be done， even that can be controlled.
　　Environmental monitoring checks the quality of an area’s environment with various data obtained through chemical， physical， biological， medical and other means. It can be used to track pollution sources and provides a basis for management and control of pollution. The imported frozen food contaminations indicate links such as transportation and storage need enhanced environmental monitoring.
　　On October 26， the State Council released two guidelines for a COVID-19 prevention and control mechanism， saying a health registration system should be established for employees of cold chain companies. Also， disinfection of food packages imported from high-risk regions and countries should be enhanced.
　　The chain of imported frozen food consists of production， process， packaging， storage， transportation and sales. So the concerned authorities and companies have been asked to pay more attention to environmental monitoring in warehouses， vehicles and other applicable places.

Hong Kong Must Be Governed by Patriots

　　Xinhua News Agency November 11
　　The decision adopted by China’s top legislature on the qualifi cation of local lawmakers in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region （HKSAR） has clarifi ed the legal basis for “patriots governing Hong Kong” on November 11. 　　The decision is targeted at activities endangering national security conducted by some Legislative Council （LegCo） members or candidates. It is just and legitimate， and will help end the turbulence in Hong Kong.
　　Four disqualified lawmakers， Alvin Yeung， Dennis Kwok， Kwok Ka-ki and Kenneth Leung， colluded with foreign forces， sided against Hong Kong and the motherland， and severely violated the ethical rules they should observe as lawmakers and the moral obligations they should heed as Chinese.
　　They have blatantly requested foreign sanctions on China and begged for foreign interference in Hong Kong affairs.
　　LegCo members must be loyal to the motherland， uphold the Basic Law of HKSAR and support the HKSAR Government’s lawbased governance. These are not only legal requirements but also the political conditions that must be met to govern Hong Kong.
　　Hong Kong belongs to China. Hong Kong’s political power organs， including the LegCo， must be composed of patriots to ensure the“one country， two systems” practice is not bent or distorted.

RENOWNED CALLIGRAPHER PASSES

　　Renowned calligrapher and educator Ouyang Zhongshi passed away in Beijing on November 5 at the age of 93， according to an obituary by Capital Normal University （CNU）.
　　The artist， whose work received acclaim both at home and abroad， also trained many Chinese calligraphers and specialized educators. He started to work at the CNU in 1981 and explored Chinese calligraphy in advanced education by founding a pioneering calligraphic studies program.
　　In recognition of his lifelong achievement， he received the second Lanting Award in 2006， the highest Chinese calligraphy art industry award.
　　He has authored over 40 books on calligraphy history and theory， including Chinese Calligraphy （2008）.
　　A graduate from Peking University， Ouyang also taught Chinese literature in middle school for some time.
　　“Only multilateralism can counter the radical and retrogressive forces rising in the world. It is encouraging that the voices supporting economic globalization， global governance and multilateralism remain the mainstream.”
　　Fu Ying， Chairperson of the Center for International Security and Strategy， Tsinghua University， in an article in China Daily on November 9
　　“Out of the top five unicorn companies[in the world] that have valuations of over $1 billion， China has at least three companies. So that shows how China is impacting the innovation scene.” 　　Alessandro Teixeira， former Special Economic Adviser to the President of Brazil and a National Thousand Talent Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at Tsinghua University， in an interview with CGTN on November 10
　　“Given China’s fundamentals， there is little the U.S. could do to hamper， let alone arrest， its progress[in technology]. Huawei is just one example of a firm that has capitalized on China’s pool of millions of engineers to develop new products.”
　　Daniel Gros， Director of the Center for European Policy Studies， a European think tank， in an article for Project Syndicate on November 5
　　“China’s first Singles’ Day [shopping festival] lesson [after COVID-19] is that early comprehensive containment measures against the pandemic can offer a sharp V-shaped recovery， rather than the messy W shapes that may blight many Western economies well into 2021.”
　　David Dodwell， Executive Director of the Hong Kong-APEC Trade Policy Study Group， a trade policy think tank， in an article in South China Morning Post on November 7