THIS WEEK PEOPLE

“Internet security is no longer a technological issue today. It is a requirement for innovation， a guarantee for development， a leader for technologies and the market， and a symbol of core competitiveness.”

Lu Wei， Minister of Chinas State Internet Information Office， at the second ChinaSouth Korea Internet roundtable conference in Seoul on December 10

“The function of the abacus can be replaced by advanced tools， but the invisible benefit it brings to practitioners will last.”

Yang Qingxia， retired accountant and proficient abacus user， commenting on the listing of the zhusuan， also known as the Chinese abacus， as intangible cultural heritage by the UN Educational， Scientific and Cultural Organization

“I love changes and innovation. The Internet industry has the busiest jobs. I didnt found Baidu for the money.”

Li Yanhong， also known as Robin Li， co-founder of Chinas largest search engine Baidu， at a forum in Beijing on December 7

“In contrast the achievements measured by scores and rankings， it can be seen that Shanghais students are weaker in active learning and problem solving.”

Wang Tianrong， a college teacher in China， commenting on Shanghai studentsranking first on recent global student tests in math， reading and science skills by the Program for International Student Assessment

TABLE TENNIS PRODIGy

Chinese table tennis player Fan Zhendong， 16， has impressed the sports circle after securing fifth place in the latest world rankings issued by the International Table Tennis Federation （ITTF）. As the winner both at the 2013 ITTF World Tour in Poland and Germany， and more recently coming runner up in Sweden， Fan made the most significant climb up the Mens World Ranking list that came out on December 4. Ranked at only No.11 in November， Fan has confirmed himself as one of the brightest talents the sport has ever seen， and he has helped China occupy all the top five places on the list.

OPERA LEGEND PASSES

Cantonese Opera singer Hong Xiannu， who was widely celebrated as a master of the art form， died in Guangzhou， Guangdong Province， on December 8 at the age of 89. Hailed as a national treasure， Hong performed in almost 100 operas and more than 90 films. Hong， who studied Cantonese Opera from the age of 13， was devoted to her art form even in her final days. Her last appearance on stage was on November 30 singing the classic Praise of Lychee. She was still acting as a vocal coach to students until the day before she died.