A NEW-GENERATION STAR SWIMMER

　　Olympic gold medalist Wang Shun stood atop the podium in the Men’s 200M Freestyle Final with his time of 1 minute and 46.14 seconds at China’s 14th National Games on September 21， winning his fourth straight title in the event at the quadrennial tournament.
　　Born in Zhejiang Province， the 27-year-old is now a veteran of the Chinese swimming team. He performed very well at this event after winning gold in the 200m individual medley at the Tokyo Olympics.
　　Wang also won the 400m individual medley on September 19. He expressed his hopes of competing at the next National Games in 2025， to be jointly hosted by Guangdong， Hong Kong and Macao.
　　Wang improved his gold medal tally at the National Games to 13， breaking swimmer Sun Yang’s 12-gold National Games record.

Student Body Fitness

　　People’s Daily September 17
　　The physical fitness of Chinese students has seen overall improvement since 2014， according to a recent report jointly released by several governmental departments.
　　There is an upward trend in their physical morphological indexes such as height， body mass and bust size； an overall growth in the vital capacity of their lungs； a reversal of the trend in their body resilience， strength， speed and endurance； and a continuous improve- ment in their nutritional intake， said the report， quoting a nationwide survey held in 2019.
　　Schools increasing their emphasis on physical exercise should be thanked for the turnabout in the figures. Yet obesity and myopia among children and the declining health status of university students remain tough issues.
　　However， the evaluation of the students’ physical constitution should not focus only on the change of indexes. After all， physical education needs to develop into a national and systematic project in different forms， including sports classes.

The Best Treatment

　　Life Week September 13
　　For Li Junling， a chief physician at the Cancer Hospital with the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences， there is only one topic on the table when he sits down with patients， namely their life expectancy. He provides patients suffering from lung cancer， the most deadly form of cancer in China， with two numbers. One is the median survival rate based on his professional judgment； the other is the best case scenario he’s come across—to build up patients’ confidence. Though most patients initially are pessimistic， there is a good chance they can win the battle. 　　The three pillar treatments of cancer—surgery， chemotherapy and radiation—have made much progress in recent years. Nevertheless， patients can increase their chances of survival when they accept new therapies. That makes how to achieve optimal results a topic worth discussing in the face of reality.
　　Technological advances aside， new concepts for treatment also benefit patients. A joint diagnosis between different departments is receiving gradual promotion in China. Breaking down the barriers between disciplines， doctors can get the full picture of patients’ conditions and discuss the most befitting treatment and discharge plans.
　　Life expectancy is not the only indicator during the treatment because cancer treatment brings along a host of side effects， such as vomiting， pain， weight loss， as well as depression and other psychiatric symptoms. Some patients have to deal with various disabilities as a result of the treatment. In the past， therapies focused on the elimination of malignant cells without paying enough attention to the patient’s pain levels.
　　Li always invites patients to look at the imaging data， explaining to them in great detail the upcoming treatment plans. At that point， the tumor is their common enemy， forging a close bond between doctors and patients. Under these circumstances， the best and most rational decisions will prevail.

Pandemic Challenges

　　Beijing Youth Daily September 15
　　Confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in Fujian Province have led to tightened prevention and control measures from September 10 onward.
　　The expert team appointed by the National Health Commission pointed out that Putian and Xiamen in the province face a challenging situation. Cases will be possibly detected in communities， schools and factories and result in the virus’ wide spread.
　　Compared to previous outbreaks， the situation in Fujian reveals different characteristics. For example， the first case was detected during a routine round of nucleic acid testing at an elementary school in Putian， where one student tested positive. The source may have been the student’s father， who had returned from Singapore， though he had gone through a lengthy quarantine period and tested negative multiple times. It was very likely that he was infected during his quarantine.
　　The infection rate in Fujian suggests using more sensitive detection reagents or improved sampling methods during nucleic acid testing. As Chinese children under the age of 12 have not been vaccinated against the virus， schools should strengthen their monitoring of those who come in contact with people entering the country.

CHINESE GEN Z DIRECTOR DEBUTS IN VENICE

　　Luo Runxiao， an aspiring young director born in 2000， completed his debut short film Hair Tie， Egg， Homework Books in 2021. The film was subsequently selected to feature in the 78th Venice International Film Festival’s Orizzonti Short Film Competition.
　　Luo is an undergraduate film student at the Tisch School of the Arts with New York University. He focuses on female narratives and feminist themes， and hopes to bring these stories about China’s realities to the global stage through the 15-minute short film.
　　The Venice International Film Festival is one of the “Big Three” European film festivals. Luo is the youngest Chinese director in history to be nominated at one of these three prestigious film affairs.
　　“China has been working toward development for all of mankind with the notion of mankind’s fate being a shared one... So we see them working with countries， small or big， from the angle of common interest.”
　　Adnan Bourji， Director of the Lebanese National Center for Studies， in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on September 21
　　“Providing more RMB-denominated financial products with greater liquidity for foreign investors could be an effective way to accelerate the process of RMB internationalization.”
　　Zhang Ming， Deputy Director of the Institute of Finance and Banking at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， in an interview with China Daily on September 20
　　“The world’s two largest economies should be working together to tackle climate change and resolve disputes over trade and technology， even as they clash over a wide range of contentious topics.”
　　UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in an interview with Associated Press on September 18， calling for the re-establishment of a functional relationship between the U.S. and China
　　“By 2020， the rate of agricultural technological development’s contributions to China’s economic growth had reached over 60 percent； the coverage rate of improved crop varieties reached over 96 percent.”
　　Tang Huajun， President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences， in an interview with CGTN on September 19