RACE WALKER SETS WORLD RECORD

Liu Hong， a Chinese race walker who has won three world championships， broke the womens 20-km race walk world record with a time of 1：24：38 at the Spanish leg of the 2015 International Association of Athletics Federations Race Walking Challenge in La Coruna on June 6. The former record was 1：25：02， set at the London Olympic Games in 2012.

The 28-year-old trimmed more than one minute off her previous personal best to win the race， while her teammate Qieyang Shenjie， bronze medalist at the 2012 London Olympics， finished second.

Born in Anfu， east Chinas Jiangxi Province in 1987， Liu started her career at the age of 15 in a sports academy in the southern city of Shenzhen. Three years later， she was selected for the national team after winning her first national championship. She also competed in the womens 20-km race walk at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games， coming in at fourth place on both occasions.

Divorce Boom

China Newsweek June 8

Divorce is easier to secure nowadays in China， especially for the post-1980 generation， the main force driving the divorce boom. A survey conducted by two assistant judges of the Shanghai No.2 Intermediate Peoples Court on 200 divorce cases from 2011 to 2012 has posited some reasons for this.

As a result of the family-planning policy introduced in the late 1970s， one in five of the post-80s generation， those born from 1980 to 1989， are only children and lack experience of group living. Being more concerned with their own feelings， they are often reluctant to yield in the face of spousal disagreements， leading to breakups. Extramarital affairs are a prominent cause of divorces， with the other party often being a colleague， a friend or a subordinate.

Lack of emotional maturity and education on marriage are also likely culprits. The post-80s generation were forbidden to have boyfriends or girlfriends at school but are pressed to get married after taking up a job. As a consequence， many couples who rushed into marriage divorced shortly after， owing to a lack of mutual understanding. Among the 200 couples， 26 percent filed for divorce within two years of getting married and over 40 percent within three years.

Members of this generation typically rely on their parents in almost every matter， from buying apartments and cars to raising their children. Their parents are prone to interfere in their married lives， inevitably intensifying disputes.

Home Appliances Get Smart

Caixin Weekly June 1

In the future， when you walk into your home， imagine the lights reflexively turning on， the curtains drawing of their own accord and the air conditioner switching on automatically. When you leave your home， the reverse occurs. Imagine your refrigerator informing you of its present food inventory and expiration dates， reminding you to replenish it with new food， and even logging online to purchase food items by itself.

A number of home appliance manufacturers and Internet companies are either eyeing up or have already stepped into the field of intelligent home appliances， a phrase referring to the connection of different kinds of appliances using the Internet of Things.

The market is set to explode within two-three years. At present， both multinational companies such as Google and Apple and domestic Chinese enterprises are scrambling to grab a piece of the action. Chinese handset maker Xiaomi Corp. is aiming to develop a super powerful app on its handsets capable of connecting all the appliances located in one house. Leading home appliance maker Haier Group has also shifted its focus to innovation and development of intelligent appliances.

Lei Jun， CEO and cofounder of Xiaomi， said in March that intelligent appliances have presented China with opportunities not to be missed. Keeping in mind the countrys sizable market and its consummate industrial chain， the potential is there to turn China into a smart product manufacturing hub.

Credibility Put to the Test

Beijing Youth Daily June 9

Recently， an honesty test was carried out in two supermarkets in Beijing and Hangzhou. Cashiers were removed from the two supermarkets. Customers were able to choose to pay either by scanning a QR code and subsequently paying online or by putting money into a box. The results showed that most customers paid the sum of money due. Nevertheless， some carried away expensive items after paying only 10 yuan （$1.6） while others even took items without paying.

The credit rating organization that conducted this test said it had attempted to test the level of credibility among the public and draw their attention to the moral quality of honesty through the exercise. The intention of the organization is understandable given the mediocre overall level of credibility among the general public. Illegal behaviors that trample over the requirements of honesty and other virtues abound， such as producing fake and shoddy products， cheating in business deals and bribery. As law enforcement is loose， many transgressions have not received due punishment and some violators have even benefited hugely from their dishonest behaviors.

In order to promote honesty among the public， more efforts should be made to create an atmosphere where honest people are rewarded while dishonest practices are rejected and punished. Gradually， people will come to fear losing their credibility.

OLD SCHOOL

Wang Xia， an 86-year-old examinee， participated in the 2015 national college entrance examination， known as gaokao in China， on June 7， marking his 15th time taking the test.

Wang was born in 1929 in Nanjing， east Chinas Jiangsu Province. He retired from his career as a pharmacist in 1989. Wang first took the gaokao in 1954， but failed. Later that year， he decided to study medicine， in the hopes of being able to treat the disease his father was suffering from. Wang went on to take the tests again in 1955， 1956， and 1960， but flunked on each occasion.

In 2001， when the gaokao limits on age and marital status were lifted， Wang became the oldest examinee since the founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949. He was admitted to Nanjing Medical University as a non-degree student in 2002. Although Wang passed all the required courses， he could not get a diploma， which cemented his decision to pass the gaokao in order to get the qualification.

“If the Chinese economy could expand at around 7 percent this year， it would translate into an incremental volume of about $800 billion.”

Li Keqiang， Chinese Premier， saying China is confident of keeping its annual growth rate at around 7 percent by tapping into the countrys huge potential when meeting with members of the Global CEO Council in Beijing on June 9

“China has made strides in decreasing hunger and has used its own experience to support other countries in doing the same.”

Jose Graziano da Silva， Director General of UN Food and Agriculture Organization （FAO）， showing his appreciation for Chinas efforts during a signing ceremony in which China and the FAO shook hands on a $50-million agreement helping other developing countries to build sustainable food systems on June 7

“Our U.S. strategy is to help small businesses in America to go to China and sell their products in China， in the most efficient ways.”

Jack Ma， founder and Executive Chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba， extending his invitation to U.S. small businesses to use his companys e-commerce site at an event hosted by the Economic Club of New York on June 9

“My dream came true. It would be an even greater honor for me to welcome athletes from around the world to achieve their dreams in my country.”

Yang Yang， a two-time Olympic champion in womens short-track speed skating and a member of the International Olympic Committee， presenting Beijings bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne， Switzerland， on June 9