CHINESE OFFICERS PROMOTED

　　Li Shangfu， Director of the Central Military Commission （CMC） Equipment Development Department， was promoted to the rank of general， which is the highest rank for offi cers in active service in China.
　　Born in Chengdu， southwest China’s Sichuan Province， in February 1958， Li has been working in the fi eld of aerospace since graduating from the National University of Defense Technology in 1982.
　　Nine other senior Chinese military and armed police offi cers were promoted along with Li at a CMC ceremony in Beijing where President Xi Jinping， also Chairman of the CMC， presented the offi cers with certifi -cates of order on July 31.
　　The promotions were announced ahead of the 92nd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army on August 1. Xi also recently gave citations and honorary titles to several military units and service members.

Using Short Videos Wisely

　　People’s Daily July 24
　　Watching short videos on their smartphones is already part of the daily life of young people， including a large number of students. Short videos offer rich and diverse content， meeting users’ demand for new information within minutes or even seconds. These young users not only watch but also make short videos. In this sense， short videos offer a platform for them to express themselves， enabling instant social networking.
　　However， it must be pointed out that the content of short videos is often mixed， and some might have a bad impact on adolescents who are still too young to tell good from bad.
　　Earlier this year， the Cyberspace Administration of China launched an antiaddiction mechanism on popular short video platforms. The mechanism restricts the time adolescents can play online， and the contents and services they can access.
　　Short videos are not all evil. If monitoring platforms， families， schools and watchdogs cooperate， short videos can be an effective tool for young people to acquire knowledge and enjoy healthy entertainment. For this， the monitoring platforms must strengthen content censorship to shield adolescents from inappropriate information and provide them with helpful content. And watchdogs must regulate this industry carefully to standardize its development.

Leaving Poverty Behind

　　Lookout Weekly July 29
　　In April， three ethnic minority groups in southwest China’s Yunnan Province， the Derung， Jino and De’ang， announced that they had shaken off poverty. These groups now have entered a prosperous society in all aspects since the 1950s. Their success is a big victory in China’s fight against poverty and a milestone in the human history of fi ghting poverty. 　　These ethnic minorities mostly lived in mountainous areas with little arable land and were cut off from the rest of the country. They were the most impoverished， vulnerable and special groups in Yunnan or even in China. In 2015， the total population of the three groups was 2.33 million， out of which 667，500 were registered as impoverished. Their communities had underdeveloped social systems and low productivity. Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949， they mostly lived by hunting and foraging wild plants. Some of them had no concept of numbers， commodities or the currency. In 2003， the illiteracy rate among these groups was as high as 36 percent， with an average education of less than four years.

　　On January 20， 2015， President Xi Jinping visited Yunnan and stressed that all ethnic groups should work together to live a moderately prosperous life. Following that， help began pouring in. Officials and volunteers also came to stay in the villages to help with poverty reduction work， or teach locals to read and write. In 2016， Yunnan began to implement its 2016-20 poverty alleviation program， focusing on six areas： capacity enhancement， labor export， housing， nurturing characteristic industries， infrastructure， and ecological environmental protection.
　　Supported by all these measures， today the ethnic groups have stepped into a prosperous society in all aspects， surmounting mountains of deep-rooted poverty.

Cultural Activities at Night

　　Guangming Daily July 29
　　When the Shanghai Museum recently began to stay open in the evening， the 2，000-visitors’quota for the evening ran out in 15 minutes. This surging enthusiasm for a cultural night life was totally unexpected. So now to meet this demand， Shanghai has also launched other cultural programs in the evening.
　　During the day， the vast majority of people don’t have time for any cultural life and there is a lack of such day-time activities on weekdays. However， after a day’s hard work， to have fun at night is a very enjoyable thing. In this sense， night is a golden time for cultural activities.
　　In many cities， local city managers have sensed this kind of need and the nighttime economy has become a common phenomenon. Some cities have already worked out policies to develop their nighttime economy. The problem now is that although people’s demand for a rich evening life is being met， the forms of nocturnal activities are limited. They are mostly commercial activities like snacking and going to the movies. There is yet to be more highquality cultural activities. Most museums， art galleries and libraries close at around 5 p.m. 　　The role of cultural venues like museums is irreplaceable in terms of improving people’s cultural taste and quality. Their absence in people’s evening life is a pity. If more such venues are open at night so that people can go to libraries to borrow and read books， visit museums， attend salons or educational activities， it will greatly improve the entire society’s cultural quality.

EX-CHAIR OF BANK UNDER INVESTIGATION

　　Hu Huaibang， former chairman of the China Development Bank （CDB）， has been put under investigation for suspected severe discipline and law violations， an offi cial statement said on July 31.
　　Hu， also former secretary of the CDB committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC）， is being investigated by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission， according to the statement.
　　Born in September 1955 in Luyi， central China’s Henan Province， Hu became chairman of the CDB in 2013. He was followed by Zhao Huan who was appointed chairman in September 2018.
　　The CDB was founded in 1994 as a policy fi nancial institution under the direct leadership of the State Council. It was incorporated as China Development Bank Corporation in December 2008， and offi cially defined by the State Council as a development finance institution in March 2015.
　　“We hope that Hong Kong will move past the political contentiousness as soon as possible and instead concentrate on developing its economy and improving people’s livelihood.”
　　Yang Guang， spokesperson for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Offi ce of the State Council， at a news conference on the Central Government’s view of recent events in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on July 29
　　“China believes the consultation on the Code of Conduct （COC） in the South China Sea could be concluded in time as long as China and the ASEAN countries work together and trust each other.”
　　Wang Yi， Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister， speaking at a press conference on July 31， after attending the ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bangkok
　　“We advocate a common， comprehensive， cooperative and sustainable security concept. We also advocate a road of common construction， sharing and win-win security， and actively participate in international security dialogues and exchanges.”
　　Wang Yang， Military Attaché at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya， at an event celebrating the 92nd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army at the Embassy on July 30
　　“Policies including tax and fee cuts and the targeted reduction of the reserve requirement ratio have helped ease the burden on companies and stabilize their confidence.”
　　Zhao Qinghe， senior statistician with the National Bureau of Statistics， in a recent interview with China Daily， regarding the offi cial purchasing managers’ index for China’s manufacturing sector， which rose to 49.7 in July