GARDENER OF‘STEEL ROSES’

Hao Wei， head coach of the Chinese womens soccer team， has led the team in its recent revival in the FIFA Womens World Cup tournament in Canada. On June 21， the “Steel Roses，” as the team has been monikered on its home turf， moved to the last eight of the competition after defeating Cameroon 1：0.

Hao， 39， has been the teams head coach since March 2013. A former national team player， Hao ended his playing career in late 2007 and pledged himself to coaching full time. He became the youngest ever head coach of a Chinese top league side in October 2009.

In the early 1980s， womens soccer became fashionable in China. The Chinese womens soccer team came second at the World Cup in the United States in 1999， by far its most momentous achievement.

Entering the 21st century， the teams performance started to dwindle. It failed to qualify for the 2011 World Cup in Germany. In Chinas recent soccer reform plan， great importance has been attached to developing the womens game.

Cheating Your Way Into an Overseas University

China Newsweek June 15

Currently， Chinese parents and students are increasingly eyeing overseas universities， including students with mediocre academic performance who would have been unable to attend Chinese universities.

Demand for overseas education has spawned agencies specializing in helping high school graduates apply to overseas universities. Unfortunately， cheating has become involved in the process. Unlike domestic universities which base their recruitment simply on the scores of the national college entrance exam held in early June every year， American universities conduct a comprehensive evaluation of candidates， which often comprises the SAT score， the grade point average （GPA）， social work experiences and a self-introductory essay. For overseas applicants， a TOEFL score is required.

In China， some high schools may assist students in submitting fake GPA results while essays and social work experiences are fabricated by agencies for overseas studies. Sometimes， even the most excellent students opt to sign up with agencies because not doing so puts them at a disadvantage. American universities trust in the application materials has consequently diminished and they are thus attaching greater importance to SAT and TOEFL scores.

However， these criteria are no longer reliable as some Chinese applicants cheat in the aforementioned exams using hi-tech devices， such as tiny earphones able to receive answers from fellow exam takers. Applicants can even choose to hire somebody else to take the exams on their behalf.

Can China Reach Industry 4.0？

South Reviews June 17-30

Ever since the global financial crisis， deindustrialized countries worldwide have started to recognize the importance of manufacturing and begun to rebuild their manufacturing sectors. The rise of the Internet has precipitated the emergence of Industry 4.0， or the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The essence of Industry 4.0 is building intelligent factories in order to satisfy the diversified demands of the market. A look at an intelligent factory lab at Tongji University in Shanghai is instructive. On the factorys production line， items are tagged with a label stating exactly how they should be processed. Importantly， the order for each specific item is different， while under Industry 3.0， one production line cannot produce different products.

Recently， the State Council issued the Made in China 2025 plan. Chinas manufacturing industry is currently stuck between Industry 2.0 and 3.0. Compared with Germany whose Industry 4.0 is the most advanced， China has conspicuous disadvantages.

First of all， Industry 4.0 focuses on the manufacturing industry. However， in China， the manufacturing industry is by and large inhabited by small and medium-sized enterprises that lack funding for constant innovation owing to small profit margins and difficulties in raising capital. Its hard for state-owned companies and small and medium-sized private enterprises to collectively push forward Industry 4.0， as competition has outweighed cooperation between them. Moreover， Germanys industrial upgrading and restructuring are based on a vibrant market and a group of high-caliber industrial workers absent in China.

Refocusing Chinas Poverty Alleviation Campaign

The Beijing News June 24

In the mountainous Daliangshan area of southwest Chinas Sichuan Province， rural residents can afford to have meat a maximum of three times each year. In Libo County of southwest Chinas Guizhou Province， over 1，100 of the 1，200 residents of a village are illiterate or semi-illiterate.

At a time when China has become the second largest economy in the world and given the sheer wealth of some eastern provinces， the living condi- tions of these impoverished groups deserve the immediate attention of the whole of society.

President Xi Jinping said recently that the national campaign to alleviate poverty has entered its most difficult final stage. Although the country has of late increased total funds earmarked for poverty reduction， poverty in places with underdeveloped economic foundations and infrastructure and harsh natural conditions remains hard to crack.

Rather than simply supporting projects with quick returns， more government resources should be directed toward education and transportation， which may not immediately burnish local officials political achievements but are essential to shedding the shackles of poverty. In other words， poverty reduction measures should not stop at satisfying short-term demands such as food and clothes， but also focus on public investment.

TIBETAN GENIUS GIRL HONORED

Yangchen Lhamo， a 9-year-old Tibetan girl， won the Best Actress award at the Asian New Talent Awards held as part of the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival on June 13-21 for her outstanding performance in the movie River. The awards were established in 2004 to promote emerging cinematic talent from China and Asia at large. Yangchen Lhamo is the youngest recipient of the honor so far.

Yangchen Lhamo was born in 2007 in southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region. At the time of the movie being shot， she was only 6 and a half years old. It was reported that her role was tailor-written for her after the young Tibetan director Sonthar Gyal discovered the girls precocious performing talents.

At the award ceremony， Sonthar Gyal escorted Yangchen Lhamo to accept the award because the girl can only speak Tibetan. The director said his only wish for his young star is that she can grow up happily and healthily.

“Currently China contributes about 30 percent of global economic growth， while the United States， 10 percent. As the worlds largest economy， the United States should take on more responsibilities.”

Lou Jiwei， Chinas Finance Minister， at a press briefing on the sidelines of the seventh China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington， D.C.， on June 23

“The products fully filled an entire compartment. It was smelly， and I nearly threw up when I opened the door.”

Zhang Tao， an official with the Administration of Customs of Changsha， Hunan Province， in an interview following the seizure of more than 100，000 metric tons of smuggled frozen meat， some of which had been stored for over four decades， in early June

“The Chinese Government respects and supports non-nuclear-weapon states in establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones based on actual regional conditions through consultation of their own accord.”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang， commenting on Chinas ratification of a protocol to the Treaty on Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia at a press conference on June 24

“We hope history and the future will be connected through this military parade. China and the world can unite under the message of peace and development.”

Qu Rui， a major general of Chinas V-day parade steering group， announcing on June 24 that China will invite foreign militaries to participate in a September 3 parade to mark the 70th anniversary of victory of the Chinese Peoples War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the world anti-Fascist war