CHAIRMAN OF THE TIBET DEVELOPMENT FUND

The 11th Panchen Lama， Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu， a spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism， was elected Chairman of the Tibet Development Fund， a non-governmental， non-profit organization， on November 28.

The Panchen Lama said he will work hard to help develop southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region and improve peoples life there.

The Tibet Development Fund， set up in 1987， has raised 106 million yuan （$16.58 million） for 387 projects in Tibet since 2006.

The Panchen Lama， 25， was conferred and enthroned on November 29 in 1995， with the approval of the State Council， Chinas cabinet.

The Panchen Lama also serves as vice president of the Buddhist Association of China and is a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference， the countrys top political advisory body.

Public Breast-Feeding Stirs Controversy

Beijing Youth Daily November 30

On November 28 a non-profit organization named Beijing Tale posted a photo of a woman breastfeeding on a crowded subway carriage and criticized the act as “exposing a sexual organ.” The image was put up on the microblogging website Sina weibo， Chinas Twitter-like social media， and has since triggered controversy.

It is ridiculous for the organization to describe breast-feeding on the subway as “exposing a sexual organ.” Most mothers， in fact， are reluctant to breast-feed in public. Few forms of public transportation offer nursery rooms for breast-feeding mothers， leaving them no choice but to do it in public， should the need arise. Actually， creating simple nursery rooms inside public transportation vehicles is feasible. Since August 2013， a bus route in Zhengzhou of central Chinas Henan Province has been provided a curtained seat in which mothers could feed their children in private.

Of course， one is free to express opinions against breast-feeding in public. Nonetheless， posting malicious slander and arrogant criticism is not something genteel persons would resort to. When coming across a breast-feeding mother on the subway， even those who oppose such displays should at least help by shielding the mother from the views of others.

Also， any well-intentioned discussion about whether it is suitable to breast-feed in public without covering up is welcomed. Such discussions should cover at least three topics： Should the subway network provide nursery rooms？ What is the publics opinion toward this behavior？ What tips should mothers learn in order to cover up when feeding their children in public？

In short， the controversy offers a glimpse of not only the interaction between public spaces and individual behaviors， but also the publics firm attitude toward the protection of female rights.

Dilemma of Being Unmarried

China Newsweek November 30

There are nearly 200 million single people living in China while the number of those living alone had increased from 6 percent in 1993 to 14.6 percent in 2013， according to data from Chinas Ministry of Civil Affairs. Its believed that Chinas fourth wave of“singles” is coming. Yet Chinese society has not prepared for such an alien group. Singles in China are suffering from many difficulties regarding housing， promotion， having children， etc.

According to Chinas laws and regulations， it is illegal for unmarried individuals to have babies. A newborn without married parents gets no household registration， or hukou， unless its parents pay social maintenance fees. The fee is then set according to the local annual disposable income per capita. In addition， neither maternity insurance nor leave is available for unmarried pregnant women. Consequently， most of them have to quit their jobs to deliver babies.

Housing is another problem for single men and women in some cities. Take Shanghai for example， where a single individual without a local hukou is not allowed to purchase any property. Singles in Guangzhou， capital of south Chinas Guangdong Province， have no access to affordable housing.

Worse yet， an unmarried person has less opportunities for promotion， since being single is often interpreted as a sign of irresponsibility in traditional Chinese culture. Also， unmarried adults living in rural areas are usually ostracized and considered unconventional.

As a matter of fact， being single and being married are just two different ways of living. A civilized society should be open and inclusive enough to respect everyones choice.

Job Hunters Get Rational

Changsha Evening Newspaper

November 30

More than 1.39 million applicants have signed up for 27，000 positions in Chinas national civil service exam this year. Job vacancies hit record highs while the average number of applicants vying for each position has been the lowest in the past five years， making this year the easiest for landing a government job. Therefore， some believe that Chinas national civil service exam is losing its appeal.

However， it is inadequate to define the popularity of civil servant jobs merely through the number of vacancies and candidates. Here are some reasons. First， the existence of “zombie applicants”—people who sign up to take the exam but do not show up for it—remains an issue as usual. The “zombies” contribute toward creating a false impression that Chinas national civil service exam has always been popular. Second， higher requirements exclude some applicants. Some positions call for grassroots working experience， while others require special academic backgrounds. Less qualified applicants dont mean that the exam itself is no longer popular. Third， incumbent civil servants and staff working at other governmental institutions were excluded from the exam this year， resulting in fewer examinees. Fourth， young job hunters， under the pressure of getting employment， are becoming more rational and willing to accept diversified posts in the private sector.

In fact， pre-test training books for the exam are best sellers， indicating that the test has not become less appealing.

ASTEROID NAMED AFTER CHINESE SCIENTIST

Wu Zuze， a researcher with the Academy of Military Medical Sciences and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS）， had the asteroid No. 207809 named after him with the approval of the International Astronomical Unions Committee on Small Body Nomenclature. The asteroid was discovered by a researcher from the Purple Mountain Observatory of the CAS in 2007. The naming ceremony was held in Beijing on November 30.

Born in east Chinas Zhejiang Province in 1935， Wu is known as the“father of hematopoietic stem cells in China.” He has dedicated himself for decades to the academic study and clinical application of stem cells.

In 1980， Wu and his research team successfully used the fetal liver hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the treatment of a patient with acute severe hematopoietic radiation syndrome， who was the first to receive this kind of treatment， and has since survived for more than 30 years.

Wu became an academician of the CAS in 1993. He served as president of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences from 1994 to 1997.

“Many gay people in China are forced to have more risky and haphazard relationships as social stigma prevents them from keeping long-term partners. To curb the spread of HIV， China needs to stem discrimination against gay people.”

AIDS prevention activist Zhang Jinxiong， said on the eve of World AIDS Day which falls on December 1

“China will work with the United States to push forward the construction of the cyber law enforcement cooperation mechanism based on the principles of law-abiding， reciprocity， honesty and pragmatism.”

State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun at the first China-U.S. ministerial dialogue on fighting cyber crimes， which he co-chaired with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson at the U.S. Justice Department on December 1

“The government should spend more on public services such as schools and hospitals in smaller cities to make them more attractive.”

Zhang Liqun， an economist with the Development Research Center of the State Council， at a forum on the process of urbanization on November 28

“Drivers who are frequently involved in road rage are often those who can only strike a psychological balance by taking revenge against other drivers. Some of them have large egos and can feel easily affronted by trivial incidents while driving.”

Shi Chuan， a psychiatrist at Peking University Sixth Hospital， during a recent interview. According to the Ministry of Public Security， more than 17 million cases of road rage have been handled by police in China so far this year