HONORED DOCTOR BACK ON FRONTLINE

　　Tong Zhaohui， a respiratory specialist with the National Health Commission， said recently that the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease （COVID-19） epidemic in Hebei Province is still containable.
　　Tong， who was honored last year as a role model in fighting COVID-19， is heading a working group on the frontline of epidemic control in Hebei， which has reported recent cases.
　　The expert， who is also vice president of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital， was among the first batch of medical experts to be sent to Wuhan， Hubei Province in central China， the region where novel coronavirus cases were first reported last year.
　　Tong is a veteran in fighting epidemics. In 2003， during the severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS） outbreak， he was appointed director of a SARS ward， treating over 100 patients， all of whom recovered.

Free Vaccine

　　Beijing Youth Daily January 11
　　The cost of COVID-19 vaccination， including the costs of the vaccine and inoculation， will be covered by the medical insurance fund and the government， not by individuals， Li Tao， Deputy Director of the National Healthcare Security Administration， said at a press conference on January 9.
　　After the vaccines are approved and available， they will be offered free to the Chinese who volunteer to be inoculated， according to Li.
　　Li also said that the administration’s vaccine disbursement will not affect the current revenue and expenditure of the medical insurance fund or residents’ medical treatment.
　　Given that the government has vowed to make the vaccine a public good， the announcement comes as no surprise. The government will pay for the vaccine at the price set by the companies according to their production， transportation and storage costs.

Waste and Pollution

　　Oriental Outlook January 7
　　The Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research， Chinese Academy of Sciences， conducted two researches of food waste respectively in 2014 and 2018. The results show that the average annual ecological footprint， the amount of land required to sustain the use of natural resources， takes up 24 percent of China’s land and wastes 865 billion cubic meters of water， equivalent to the water of all the reservoirs in the country.
　　From the perspective of the industrial chain， the waste and environmental pollution is more severe. For instance， the pesticides and fertilizers used in agricultural activities have a detrimental effect on land and water resources. The loss of grain in storage， transportation and processing reached over 35 billion kg. Kitchen waste accounted for 37 to 62 percent of municipal solid waste， producing infectious bacteria that are a threat to human health. 　　According to a survey conducted by Oriental Outlook， only 57 percent of people were aware of the problem of food wastage though in Chinese history， thrift is the mainstay of the food culture.
　　Catering reflects a society’s civilizational level， indicating the moral standards and individual qualities of consumers and industry practitioners. Recently， Chinese society has been growing increasingly concerned over the rising food waste habit and activities have been organized to spread awareness about the importance of not wasting food. This has improved the situation to some extent.
　　Now lawmakers have suggested that the top legislature amend regulations so that restaurants can levy an additional charge on customers who waste food based on the amount of leftovers.
　　This demonstrates that the solution to the waste issue is to change the bad habits and lifestyles of people as well as educate those working in different links of the food chain.

New Holiday Measure

　　Guangming Daily January 8
　　The Chinese New Year， or Spring Festival， which will fall on February 12 this year， is the most important traditional holiday and time for family reunions.
　　But this year， the traveling and gathering will pose a great challenge for controlling the spread of COVID-19. With a number of cases reported already， people need to decide very carefully if they should travel or stay put where they are.
　　Several provinces and municipalities including Beijing， Shanghai and Hebei have urged their residents to stay where they are to reduce the possibility of infections. Some cities are also encouraging employees to continue working during the holiday and not travel to their hometowns， but to choose another time to go on holiday when there is no travel rush.
　　However， to ensure that people who stay in the cities where they work also have an enjoyable Spring Festival， the local authorities should ensure in advance that there is no dearth of supplies， and public transport is adequate.

HONG KONG COURT OF FINAL APPEAL GETS NEW CHIEF JUSTICE

　　Andrew Cheung Kui-nung， the new Chief Justice of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal， was sworn in on January 11.
　　The 59-year-old vowed to continue efforts to safeguard the rule of law.
　　Cheung joined Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s judiciary in 2001. He became a permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal in October 2018.
　　Hong Kong’s judiciary must remain independent and impartial and continue to safeguard the rule of law. The judges must be upright， Cheung said at the ceremonial opening of the legal year 2021. 　　"With little sign of another COVID wave， the Chinese economy is firmly recovering from the pandemic shock， based on the November 2020 edition of the National Institute of Economic Review."
　　Mao Xuxin， principal economist at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research， a London-based economic think tank， in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on January 15
　　“China already has the world’s second largest capital market， and I think they will eventually vie for the world’s financial center.”
　　Ray Dalio， founder of Bridgewater Associates， the world’s largest hedge fund， in Financial Times on January 9
　　“A total of 75 percent of American Muslims believe they experienced severe discrimination in U.S. society. And the pandemic further worsened the social situation when the Muslim population of the United States was hit in the first place.”
　　Seymur Mammadov， Director of Eurasia-Azerbaijan， an international experts’ association， commenting on U.S. social inequality in China Daily on January 11
　　“It shows China’s genuine spirit of solidarity and cooperation， without which humanity would not be able to defeat this virus [COVID-19].”
　　Hussam Al Husseini， Jordanian Ambassador to China， commenting on China joining the World Health Organization-led COVAX initiative to ensure equitable global access to vaccines， to Xinhua News Agency on January 12