FORMER LEADER PASSES AWAY

Qiao Shi， former Chairman of the National Peoples Congress （NPC） Standing Committee， died in Beijing on June 14 at the age of 91. A statement from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC） described Qiao as a statesman and leader of the Party and the state.

Born in 1924 in Shanghai， Qiao joined the CPC in 1940. Later， he led Shanghai students in revolutionary movements as the head of the underground CPC committee of Tongji University， in addition to performing other functions. After the Peoples Republic of China was founded in 1949， Qiao assumed a series of governmental positions.

Qiao became chairman of the NPC Standing Committee， Chinas top legislature， in March 1993， and supervised amendments to the Constitution. He also oversaw the drafting of a series of economic laws allowing the legal framework of Chinas market economy to come into being， the statement said. Qiao retired from his position as Chinas top legislator in March 1998.

The Power of Cultural Exchange

Oriental Outlook June 18

Cultural exchange has played the dual roles of explorer and paver of the way for the Sino-U.S. relationship. Many participants from the two sides use metaphors like “a long flowing stream” or “sowing a seed” to describe activities of this nature.

Although the bilateral diplomatic relationship is over 30 years old， curiosity， suspicion and misunderstanding still exist between the two countries. Will the power of the stream and the seed be strong enough to counter the downside of bilateral ties？

The sixth round of the China-U.S. High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange and the seventh round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue are scheduled to open in late June in Washington， D.C. Until then， governmental officials from both sides will encourage cultural exchange with even more tenacity and vigor to face challenges.

Today， cultural exchange involving individuals and businesses， together with strategic and economic cooperation， has become a pillar supporting the new pattern of relationships between China and the United States. The two countries interests have become so tightly interwoven that now they are coming to an unprecedented moment， one which may set an example for the rest of the world.

When the crucial moment arrives， cultural exchange will play a fundamental role， like drops of water outwearing the stone and seeds that will eventually sprout.

All Is Not Lost， Job-Hunters！

Outlook Weekly June 15

Entering June， 7.49 million college graduates are rushing into the job market， lacking the time to so much as bid each other fond farewell.

Outlook Weekly recently conducted surveys nationwide， and concluded that the employment situation is fairly stable at present， with advantages and disadvantages coexisting. According to government targets for 2015， it is expected that over 10 million job opportunities will be created and that the registered unemployment rate will be maintained below 4.5 percent in cities and towns.

Three distinct advantages exist in this years employment situation： a steadily developing economy cementing the foundation for stable employment， the introduction of policies supporting startups， and an industrial structure undergoing adjustment and promising more job opportunities. Experts have pointed out that although the countrys economic growth has slowed， the giant base quota of GDP has guaranteed that more jobs will accompany economic growth. They are confident that the employment target for this year can be fulfilled as long as this years GDP growth rate reaches 6 percent.

Experts have also given advice on how to deal with structural imbalances in employment. They suggest that the country need to increase the wages of skilled labor to attract youth into the labor market. In addition， they maintain that the government should provide preferential job opportunities to people who have more urgent needs， while avoiding too much interference in the market. As for graduates， experts say they should be encouraged to lower expectations as regards their first jobs.

Withholding Allowance Deemed “Not Cool”

Yanzhao Evening News June 16

The arrival of summer has again made high temperature allowance a hot topic. In east Chinas Jiangsu Province， the standard is 200 yuan （$32） per person every month and the allowance is granted for a four-month period starting in June.

Generally speaking， state-owned enterprises do well， but in private businesses， employees seldom receive the allowance. Many workers in construction sites， package delivery companies， open parking lots， who suffer most under hot conditions， say they never expect to be given the allowance.

What is key is not how much money the workers receive， but whether or not they can access the allowance in the first instance. The situation in Jiangsu is actually much better than that in many other provinces. According to the relevant regulations in the province， any business or organization that refuses to offer employees high temperature allowance will be seen as being in violation of the law， meaning this allowance is not a welfare subsidy， but rather compulsory compensation for those who work under extremely hot conditions. However， despite the regulations， some have nonetheless turned a blind eye to it.

The major reason is a lack of supervision and appropriate penalties， with many companies just not taking the requirement seriously. In this case， even if the amount of the allowance were to be raised again and again， year after year， it would still represent nothing but an empty promise to many workers.

FEMALE KMT CANDIDATE

Hung Hsiu-chu， the only contender for the ruling Kuomintang （KMT） partys primary Taiwan leadership bid， has attained the required level of support in public polls with an average rating of 46.2 percent.

The results， released on June 14， were based on three polls conducted by various pollsters a few days previous， with each being required to collect 1，200 valid samples.

Hung， born in April 1948 in Taipei， is currently deputy head of the regional legislature. She was required to obtain at least 30-percent support in the polls， as a precondition for becoming the partys candidate， in accordance with KMT regulations.

Hungs nomination still has to be confirmed by a convention of KMT delegates in July. As the opposition Democratic Progressive Party has endorsed the candidacy of its Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen for the 2016 Taiwan leadership election in April， the election is very likely to become a campaign between two women.

“Well continue to expand people-topeople exchanges across the Straits and engage more Taiwan compatriots in the trend of cross-Straits interaction.”

Yu Zhengsheng， Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference， Chinas top political advisory body， vowing to boost exchanges across the Taiwan Straits at the Seventh Straits Forum recently held in Fujian Province

“The corridor should prioritize infrastructure including highways， railways， tunnels and optical cables.”

She Ruiyuan， head of the Development and Reform Commission of Kashgar in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， which borders Pakistan， stating her belief the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will create new business opportunities for enterprises in many economic sectors in an interview with Xinhua News Agency

“The quality of growth throughout the 13th Five-Year Plan （2016-20） will be especially crucial in terms of skipping the so-called ‘middle-income trapand leaping directly into high-income brackets.”

Song Li， a researcher with the Academy of Macroeconomic Research， affiliated with the National Development and Reform Commission， projecting recently that China will enter the stage of being a high-income country around 2025 after replacing the United States as the worlds largest economy

“They are not targeted at any other country， do not affect the freedom of navigation and overflight enjoyed by all countries in accordance with international law in the South China Sea， nor have they caused or will they cause damage to the marine ecological system and environment in the South China Sea； and they are thus beyond reproach.”

Lu Kang， Foreign Ministry spokesperson， stressing the construction activities on the Nansha islands and reefs fall within the scope of Chinas sovereignty， in a press release on June 16