AUSTRIA HONORS CHINESE FOR CULTURAL EXCHANGES

　　Wu Jiatong， President of Wu Promotion， a Chinese agency specializing in artistic and cultural exchanges between China and the world， was honored with the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art for building bridges between Austria and China. The award ceremony took place at the Embassy of Austria in Beijing on May 16.
　　Wu and his father established Wu Promotion in 1991. It was the first private event planning and promotional agency for the performing arts in China and today has become a leading agency in Asia. He started to organize tours of Austrian orchestras to China， and Chinese orchestras to Europe.
　　“This is a monumental day in my career， which started off by helping my father some 30 years ago. I gave up my major in engineering and devoted myself to the arts out of love， and the ambition to enhance mutual understanding between the people of both countries，” Wu said.

Mobile Population

　　People.cn May 12
　　The seventh national population census shows that the mobile population in China exceeded 375 million， an increase of 69.73 percent compared with 2020. The rise in numbers reflects China’s sustained economic and social development over the past decade.
　　In the early days， the eastern coastal areas with better economic performance were the go-to destination of migrant people. Nevertheless， thanks to policies supporting the central and western regions， these areas have attracted many talents and a large labor force. Such migration movements give full play to human resources’ value， and help balance public services between different regions.
　　Population mobility can inject impetus into regional development. Aside from providing a workforce， it usually boosts exchanges of intelligence， capital， information， services and culture， promoting resource sharing and cultural diversity.
　　Therefore， governments at all levels should develop channels for human resources integration， through which talents can return to their hometowns for the purposes of entrepreneurship and employment， whereas people from the rural areas come to the cities to find jobs.

A New Competition

　　Lifeweek May 17

　　In 2005， Shenzhen in Guangdong Province hosted the first Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism＼Architecture （UABB）. It is a cooperative cultural event shared by Shenzhen and Hong Kong under a similar theme. Li Xiaojiang， then head of the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design， visited the exhibition and concluded society had not yet developed a mature concept of cities. 　　Ten years later， the first Shanghai Urban Space Art Season， an international platform for the exchange of modern designs to improve public spaces， was held. This time， Li could spot the increasing social needs.
　　Along with the increasing income， people’s life demands have stretched beyond fancy apartments and villas， and now highlight aesthetic value. This new view has been reflected in Li’s planning of Xiongan New Area. Apart from traditional urban communities， his team also designed ecology-friendly neighborhoods with forests and lakes to provide various aesthetic and residential experiences.
　　Zhang Yuxing， an initiator of UABB， told Lifeweek， that the public space environment is an important indicator of traditional urban renovation. Generally， the renovation relies on the improvement of land value and quality of public space usage.
　　The government， as the biggest owner of urban land， should treat the city as an ecosystem， which needs the participation of multiple parties to maximize its value， he said.

COVID-19 Control

　　Beijing Youth Daily May 15
　　Health authorities in Anhui Province had confirmed four locally transmitted COVID-19 cases as of 12 a.m. on May 14. Experts have arrived in the province to guide virus prevention and control， including epidemiological investigation and tracing.
　　According to a press conference on epidemic control on May 15， a spokesperson of the National Health Commission said that the number of confirmed cases in the world has exceeded 5 million for four consecutive weeks， majorly from China’s neighboring countries. Since May， 142 new imported cases have been reported in China， seeing an increase of mutated virus strains.
　　Vaccination is one of the effective ways to control the current outbreak. As of May 10， the vaccination coverage rate in China had exceeded 23 percent. More people will become immune in the near future. COVID-19 is a global issue， which can be restrained only when all countries take appropriate safety measures. Only when global vaccine coverage reaches 70 percent or higher can this goal be realized.

CHIEF DESIGNER DECODES SPACE STATION

　　Yang Hong， chief designer of China’s space station at the China Academy of Space Technology （CAST）， said the station is projected to enter operation in 2022， with a design life of 10 years， in an interview with China Central Television released on May 16.
　　In 1991， Yang entered CAST， one of the world-class spacecraft designers and manufacturers established in 1968， and studied new returnable satellites after getting his master’s degree at the institute. A year later， China announced a project of manned space exploration. Since then， the connection between the space station and the 58-year-old manned space engineering and electronic information technology expert was established. 　　On April 29， the core module of the Chinese space station was launched into space and successfully entered orbit， raising the curtain on the construction of the Chinese space station. It includes 11 launch missions in the next two years， including three space station section launches， four cargo spacecraft launches and four manned spacecraft launches.
　　“China supports any action conducive to the equitable access to vaccines for developing countries. It presents the nature of COVID-19 vaccines as a global public good and proves necessary for the construction of a global community of health for all.”
　　Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian commenting on the hopes developing countries hold regarding the waiver of COVID-19 vaccines’ intellectual property rights， at a press conference on May 17
　　“China has become a serious actor in the Middle East... Peace-building cooperation between the West and China is more important than ever.”
　　Thomas O. Falk， a London-based political analyst， stressing the increasing importance of China on the global political stage in an article posted by CGTN on May 17
　　“Unilateralism， protectionism and technological hegemony should be firmly opposed. We need to uphold international fairness and justice， promote equal and mutually beneficial cooperation， and avoid blockades and barriers to technology.”
　　Zhang Jun， China’s permanent representative to the United Nations， at a meeting on the impact of technologies on international peace and security， on May 17
　　“China’s adherence to international law and multilateralism makes it an ideal partner of choice for other countries to improve global governance.”
　　Victoria V. Panova， Vice President for International Relations of the Far Eastern Federal University， in an article published on the China Daily website on May 18