PEOPLE

“Male nurses are expected to be very popular in the future job market considering their small number and huge market demand.”

Cheng Gen, a member of the Chinese Nursing Association in charge of male nursing related work, on May 12, International Nurses’ Day

“Each government department should continuously disclose information that the public can question instead of ignoring concerns and hiding vital details. The more information authorities disclose, the fewer misunderstandings and rumors there will be.”

Cheng Manli, a professor at Peking University, calling for better government information disclosure, on May 12

“I cannot separate myself from Taobao (a major consumer-to-consumer portal in China) now. It is becoming a lifestyle, or it is life itself.”

Mei Xiao, a civil servant in Wuhan, Hubei Province, discussing online shopping on May 9

“In the past, nearly 90 percent of graduates could find a job six months after graduation, but I’m afraid the figure may only be 86 percent or so if the economy does not rebound in the latter half of the year.”

Zhang Yi, an expert in labor economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, on May 14. As of April 19, only 28 percent of college graduates in Beijing had signed employment deals

CEO RESIGNS

Ma Yun, also known as Jack Ma, officially stepped down as CEO of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.,on May 10. He will stay on as the company’s chairman.May 10 is the 10th birthday of Alibaba’s consumer-toconsumer business website Taobao. The company also operates two additional e-commerce sites—Alibaba.com and the business-to-consumer platform Tmall.Before Ma’s departure, Alibaba delivered a rosy financial report, overtaking Tencent Holdings Ltd. to become the most profitable Internet company in China during the fourth quarter of last year.

OFFICIAL UNDER INVESTIGATION

Liu Tienan, Vice Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is under investigation by the Party’s disciplinary commission, the Ministry of Supervision revealed on its website on May 12.

Liu was head of the National Energy Administration from December 2010 to March. He has served as a vice minister of the NDRC since 2008. The NDRC is a super ministry that sets broad economic policies and approves major investments.

Liu has become the second ministerial level official to be investigated since the Party’s new leadership took power last November.