ENTERTAINMENT TITAN’S NEW CAREER

Chen Tianqiao， Chairman and founder of Shanghai-based Shanda Group， which was one of Chinas top online entertainment giants， has made his symbolic exit from this industry by selling his stake in Shanda Games. It was reported that Shanda has been transformed into an investment firm focusing on finance and the Internet.

Chen， born in May 1973 in Shaoxing， east Chinas Zhejiang Province， is numbered among Chinas top IT leaders. He graduated from Shanghais Fudan University in 1993， one year earlier than his classmates owing to his status as an outstanding student. He started Shanda in 1999 with 500，000 yuan （about $60，000 at that time） and 20 employees. Five years later， the company became listed on NASDAQ， and since then， its fortunes have skyrocketed to the point where Chen has become one of Chinas Top 100 richest individuals.

More Tolerance， Less Discrimination

Beijing Morning Post December 1

This years World AIDS Day looked to increase tolerance to people living with HIV/AIDS and address peoples discrimination against the disease. HIV/AIDS has long been regarded as an incurable disease like cancer， though perhaps more terrifying in that it is contagious. Misunderstandings about how it is transferred between people have become one of the main reasons why people with HIV/AIDS are discriminated against.

Thanks to rapid medical progress， HIV can be controlled to a large degree if discovered at an early stage and treated with anti-viral medication. People with the virus can live a normal life. However， the number of people infected with HIV is growing. In Beijing for example， cases of HIV increased by 21 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same period of last year. Of the newly discovered cases， 49.6 percent were transferred from homosexual intercourse.

Because of the discrimination in Chinese society against people with the disease， many of those who have been infected are afraid of telling others or going to hospital for treatment， which increases the possibility of further infection to their sexual partners or anyone who may come in contact with their blood such as medical personnel.

Discrimination against HIV/AIDS will not easily be overcome. Its important to increase peoples understanding of the disease and encourage safe sex practices. To meet the goal of“getting to zero，” tolerance and a healthy way of life are needed.

Critical Illness Headacheendprint

Outlook Weekly November 24

For a certain number of middle- and lowincome families in Chinas rural areas， their attitudes toward disease are similar： Trivial little diseases are neglected， serious diseases are to be endured and extremely serious diseases are a trip to hell and back. The difficulty in getting medical treatment and high medical costs are a tough topic most people have to face up to. Although the country is trying to improve its medical insurance system， on which impoverished patientsbiggest hopes are pinned， numerous problems make this dream difficult to achieve.

In poor areas， patients with serious diseases， particularly incurable ones， will have to give up medical treatment and wait to die. The poorer the family is， the more likely the treatment will be delayed and the more serious the disease will become. Some diseases are at first treatable， but owning to the delays they become fatal.

The new rural cooperative medical system has been strengthened in recent years， which encourages rural patients to seek better medical treatment. However，a shortage of quality medical resources， insurance and aid still looms over their heads. Due to huge capital demand and limited resources， its not possible for Chinas basic healthcare insurance system to meet all patients needs. Civil affair departments may provide families with up to 30，000 yuan （$4，900） in aid， but such a sum can do little to help patients with critical diseases.

Industrial Design Matters

Oriental Outlook December 4

Industrial design， the act of creating new products， is empowering Chinese manufacturing enterprises to rid themselves of the status of being mere subcontracting workshops.

A fundamental issue concerning industrial design is that design is a product of well-developed manufacturing businesses. Without a good manufacturing foundation， its impossible to create new brands. The good news is that together with the maturing industrial chain， the protection of intellectual property rights is improving in China.

The problem remains that although the cost of design is quite small compared to that of the whole program， not many companies are willing to take the risk. Moreover， in other places， industrial design companies focus on designing， but in China， such companies have to cover the whole line， which might mean a lack of emphasis on the importance of design.

China is a big exporter of merchandise， but it mainly depends on quantity. By involving industrial design in product structure and quality， Chinese companies will be able to win bigger market shares. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology， the Chinese Government is planning to set up national industrial design centers to train future talent.endprint

GRASSROOTS wRITER RECOGNIZED

Hua Qianfang， a young online writer， was recently elected vice chairman of the WritersAssociation of Fushun， northeast Chinas Liaoning Province.

Hua， whose real name is Ning Xueming， was born in 1978 in Qingyuan Manchu Autonomous County， Liaoning Province. He worked as a migrant laborer far away from his hometown after graduating from middle school in the early 1990s. Then he returned to become a full-time farmer， and started to write articles on the Internet in his spare time.

Hua is one of the representatives of online writers that emphasize generating positive energy concerning patriotic values on the Internet. Owing to his articles， he has accrued millions of fans. On October 17， Hua was one of the two Internet writers who attended a seminar hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping for prominent figures in modern Chinese art and literature.

“Our Asian neighbors are paying a great deal of attention to how the Japanese Government and leaders will handle next year and what kind of messages will be delivered.”

Tang Jiaxuan， former State Councilor and now President of the China-Japan Friendship Association， speaking on December 3 at a meeting of the 21st Century Committee， an advisory panel on Sino-Japanese relations

“The merger is not just about making a change， but represents a large step forward in preventing unhealthy competition in overseas markets.”

Liu Youmei， a railway transportation specialist with the Chinese Academy of Engineering， commenting on the merger plan of Chinas two biggest train makers， China CNR Corp. and CSR Corp.， on December 3

“It is a milestone for the development of Chinas tourism industry.”

Zhang Jilin， an official from the National Tourism Administration， referring to the fact that Chinas outbound tourist departures from the mainland have recently exceeded 100 million in a calendar year for the first time

“This is perhaps the best time ever in Chinas cinematic history.”

Zhao Baohua， Deputy Director of the Chinese Film Literature Association， film critic and screenwriter， talking about Chinas box office takings hitting a new record high in 2014endprint