WORLD CHAMPION JOINS RESCUE WORK

　　Xu Yaping， world canoeing champion， has recently caught media attention for joining rescue work in a typhoon-hit city in east China’s Zhejiang Province.
　　A photo of Xu wearing a lifejacket and cap and looking exhausted after 10 hours’ work saving people from fl oods in Zhejiang has gone viral on Weibo， a popular social media platform.
　　Typhoon Lekima landed in Zhejiang on August 10. On the night of August 10， the Linhai City Public Security Bureau asked the public to lend steamboats for rescue work on social media.
　　Seeing the call for help， Xu， now an aquatic sports teacher at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou， contacted professional rescuers， formed a fiveperson team and headed for Linhai.
　　After more than 10 hours fi ghting fl ood， Xu and her team helped more than 30 people to safe places.

Regulating Social E-Commerce

　　Beijing Youth Daily August 13
　　The industry of e-commerce on social networking platforms has maintained rapid growth in China in 2019， according to a recent report released by the Internet Society of China. The market scale of the industry is expected to reach 2.06 trillion yuan （$292 billion） this year， up 63.2 percent year on year. The number of social e-commerce consumers has reached 512 million.
　　Social e-commerce is a branch of ecommerce that involves the use of social media for help in online buying and selling of products and services.
　　The report also pointed out that traditional e-commerce platforms are eyeing the social ecommerce market. For instance， e-commerce giant JD.com has established a social e-commerce department. There will be increasingly fierce competition in the social e-commerce market in future. Therefore， it’s urgent to strengthen the regulation of the sector.
　　However， a series of problems have emerged in the social e-commerce industry， such as the prevalence of fake and shoddy products.
　　Some social e-commerce platforms have also been found to be involved in pyramid schemes， which are illegal. As social e-commerce is mainly conducted among friends and other social networks， it can easily give rise to pyramid schemes.
　　In order to solve the problems of social ecommerce， relevant laws and regulations need to be improved in order to crack down on illegal activities. Though the E-Commerce Law which came into force in January this year has no specific section for social e-commerce， the draft Regulation on Social E-Commerce published by the Ministry of Commerce in July 2018 prohibits pyramid schemes， illegal fundraising， and fake promotion in social e-commerce. Hopefully， the regulation will help standardize the social ecommerce industry after it is enacted.

Recreating Pedestrian Streets

　　Oriental Outlook August 8
　　Pedestrian streets are a symbol of a city’s prosperity. Many international metropolises have pedestrian streets which best capture the city or even the country’s characteristics， such as Arbat Street in Moscow， Avenue des Champs-élysées in Paris and Fifth Avenue in New York.
　　Over the past decades， many Chinese cities have built pedestrian streets. These streets play an important role in satisfying consumer demand and improving their city’s image.
　　However， many pedestrian streets can hardly meet the needs of consumption upgrade at present as China pursues a development mode focused on quality.
　　In December 2018， the Ministry of Commerce issued a notice on renovating pedestrian streets in China， stating that the program will start in 11 pilot cities fi rst.

　　Wangfujing Street in downtown Beijing is among the 11 pilot pedestrian streets. As the fi rst commercial street in Beijing， Wangfujing Street has failed to live up to its name in recent years， a result of competition from e-commerce and other commercial centers in the capital. In order to change the situation， multiple measures have been taken to upgrade the street. WF CENTRAL， Hongkong Land’s retail center which opened in May 2018， attracted a number of high-end international brands. In addition， the street is being renovated with a new square built， billboards torn down and green plants placed， creating a leisurely space for residents.
　　In the next three years， the renovation will be expanded. Thirty to 50 more pedestrian streets with a beautiful environment， abundant shopping and distinctive culture will be built in major cities across the country.

Attracting Talent

　　Qianjiang Evening News August 13
　　Hangzhou， capital city of east China’s Zhejiang Province， has recently issued a revised edition of the catalogue of high-caliber talents， adding 88 new evaluation criteria. This is the second revision since the catalogue was fi rst published in 2015， and it is undoubtedly another vigorous measure by Hangzhou to attract capable people.
　　The revised edition is more market-oriented， incorporating yearly salary and writers’ royalties into the criteria. Talents working in fi elds closely related to people’s livelihood such as education and healthcare are given more importance. Compared with previous evaluation systems which were based on degrees， professional titles and academic papers， the current catalogue puts more emphasis on ability， performance and contribution. 　　The new catalogue will enable more people to enjoy preferential treatment in housing， healthcare and children’s education. It will encourage local talents to stay， while attracting more outsiders.
　　Talents are key to a city’s development. A city’s development requires a diversifi ed talent pool. The future competition between cities will be a competition for talents. This is why cities in China are vying for talented people. However， just the number of talented people is not the most important thing. A reasonable talent structure under which all kinds of talents are suffi -ciently utilized is of higher value.

CHARITABLE AGRICULTURAL SCIENTIST PASSES AWAY

　　Lu Yonggen， an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences， died in Guangzhou， capital city of south China’s Guangdong Province， at the age of 89 on August 12.
　　Before Lu died， he donated his life savings valued at more than 8.8 million yuan （$1.25 million） to the Guangzhou-based South China Agricultural University to support the excellent young teachers and students from poor families in the university.
　　It was the largest single donation from an individual in the university’s 108 years of history. Lu， a famous agricultural scientist， continued his lifelong generosity in passing， donating his body to support medical research and education.
　　Born in 1930 in Hong Kong， Lu joined the Communist Party of China in 1949. He became a teacher at South China Agricultural University after graduation in 1953. Lu was appointed president of the university in 1983， and became a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1993. Lu was selected as one of the 10 persons who moved Chinese people the most in 2017.
　　“The Belt and Road Initiative is a flexible economic-oriented project. It does not come with political pressure but instead it is about giving participating countries the opportunity to take advantage of economic opportunities.”
　　Timur Shaimergenov， Chairman of the Committee of International Information of the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan， at the New Inclusive Asia Dialogue in Kuala Lumpur， Malaysia， on August 14
　　“Rising education levels， increasing workloads and stress， fierce societal competition， the impact on careers of having a baby and the high cost of marriage all contribute to the growing trend of late marriage.”
　　Xue Yali， Associate Professor at the Family Study Center of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences， in a recent interview with China Daily
　　“Over the past year， trade friction between the two countries proved that by continuously imposing new tariffs on Chinese imports， the U.S. cannot change the fundamental trends of Chinese economic development.”
　　Lou Feng， a researcher at the Institute of Quantitative and Technical Economics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， on August 14
　　“I used to dismiss acupuncture as an old-fashioned pseudoscience. The treatment is long， the process is painful， and after all， the recovery speed is so slow！ However， the miracle of my recent treatment and recovery totally changed my mind.”
　　Isaebella Watson， a Briton who studies communication at a Beijing university， commenting on her experience of receiving acupuncture treatment in Beijing