PEOPLE & POINTS



PEOPLE & POINTS

↓OLYMPIANS ENGAGED IN RIO

Olympic divers Qin Kai （left） and He Zi not only won medals but also made one of the most important decisions of their lives in Rio de Janeiro， Brazil. In front of a cheering crowd on August 14， Qin got down on one knee and proposed to He with an engagement ring. He， who had just come off the podium with a silver medal from the women's 3-meter springboard， nodded yes.

Qin， a two-time Olympic champion， announced that he would retire from his athletics career after landing a bronze in the men's synchronized diving at the Rio Games three days earlier.

Qin， 30， and He， 26， have been dating for more than six years， the latter told reporters. “He has made a lot of promises，” He said. “But the thing that has touched me the most is that I think he is the one I can trust for the rest of my life.”

Lessons for Internet Companies

Economic Daily August 15

Kaixin001.com， which used to be a prevailing social networking site in China， has recently been acquired and reorganized. Its experience， from shooting to fame to slipping to the bottom in eight years shows a glimpse of the Internet industry's complexity. Internet companies need to make continuous efforts to please users and improve their experience. They shouldn't rely on one or two games or applications， even if they are very popular.

The past decade was a period in which the Chinese people began acclimatizing to the Internet. In the early stages， users were likely to be attracted by what would now be considered sparse content. But now， users have started to expect more advanced Internet services， as they become increasingly familiar with the Web. If Internet companies fail to stay ahead of the curve，they'll soon be outpaced by stronger rivals.

The fall of Kaixin001.com also demonstrates the effects of the mobile Internet trend. This website possessed 70 million registered users in 2009， but it failed to keep in step with the speed at which smartphones were becoming popular. The rise of the mobile Internet has produced new darlings for users in China such as Tencent's WeChat，while Kaixin001.com has now been pushed to the wayside.

Startups in the Internet industry need to draw experience from Kaixin001.com's rise and fall， which should serve as a lesson on the need to keep pace with the times.

IdIe Theaters

Oriental Outlook August 18

There are more than 2，200 performance venues in China， including some 1，000 professional theaters， according to the Beijing-based Daolue Cultural Industry Research Center. However， 72 percent of the theaters see fewer than 30 performances per year.

In China， theaters are usually financially supported by the government，which often looks for independent companies to carry out the investment and construction. Some of these companies aren't well acquainted with the function of theaters. As a result， the design of a theater may not be able to meet users' requirements. If problems surface when the construction is fnished， renovations often cost a large amount of money.

Private troupes are incapable of constructing their own performance venues，at least for now. Theaters are thriving， but the rent keeps rising. As a result， troupes have to hike ticket prices so as to cover the rent. This， however， can lead to a decline in the number of theatergoers.

In Europe， theaters are mainly funded by government， while in the United States， they largely depend on donations

“Until 1800， China was preeminent in science and technology. This is a renaissance rather than a naissance.”

Francis Gurry， Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization， commenting on China becoming the frst middle-income country to join the ranks of the world's top 25 innovative economies， according to the Global Innovation Index released on August 15

“Our estimates suggest that the continued rise in high blood pressure， an increasingly sedentary lifestyle， increasing obesity and worsening dietary trends will add millions of new cases of heart attacks and stroke over the next two decades.”

Yanping Li， a research scientist with the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School， on his recently published study， which fnds that China is facing an epidemic of cardiovascular diseases

↓PILOT FLIES AROUND THE WORLD

Chen Jingxian， an amateur aviator from southwest China's Sichuan Province， is on a journey to become the frst Chinese woman to circumnavigate the world. She left Cleveland， Ohio， in the United States on August 1 in a single-engine aircraft. Her trip is estimated to last 45-60 days including stops in Canada， Iceland， France， Egypt， Saudi Arabia， Thailand and China.

Chen， 31， divides her professional time between New York City and Shanghai as a lawyer. She first learned to fly while pursuing her master's degree in the United States and was licensed as a private pilot in 2013.

Chen aims to win the prize of 1 million yuan （$150，000） offered by Chen Wei， who became the frst Chinese pilot to fy around the globe in 2011， to the frst female Chinese to circumnavigate the world. She has a competitor，though. Wang Zheng， a U.S.-based fight instructor， is also scheduled to start a circumnavigation attempt later in August， according to media reports.

from companies and individuals. Some experts in China believe that the best way is for the government to provide subsidies， while the operation of theaters is left to the market. The more the government assigns tasks to theaters，the more the subsidies should be. This is actually aimed at benefting the audience by lowering ticket prices. Many experts argue that theaters are places for the public to become more culturally literate and thus should be treated as a public service.

New-Energy Car Services

Guangzhou Daily August 11

The first batch of public charging posts for electric vehicles in Guangzhou， south China's Guangdong Province， has recently come into operation. Guangzhou is planning to build 5，000 charging posts in the coming four years. It is suggested that 30 percent of parking lots in old residential communities should be equipped with charging posts，while newly built communities will be completely furnished.

New-energy vehicles， a promising emerging industry， have become increasingly popular in the market. Despite favorable government policies， the public is still reluctant to embrace electric cars. The key lies in an insuffcient supply of charging posts.

Charging posts are not common in public areas and are usually difficult to be located. Therefore， priority should be given to increasing the number of the posts. Guangzhou is also planning to launch an online software application， by which car owners can access a map of charging posts and their availability. Apart from a lack of charging posts， their inefficiency is another problem. It usually takes as long as 10 hours to charge a car， and car owners have to pay for both electricity and parking.

Compared to public areas， equipping residential communities with charging posts may be more effective. However， despite their calls for this service， car owners' demands are often rejected by their residential complex's property management company. Under these circumstances， changes to the status quo are highly anticipated.

“China's dairy industry has seen dramatic changes.”

Gu Jicheng， Vice President of the Dairy Association of China， on a report released by the association on August 16 that said Chinese dairy products are emerging from the shadow cast by 2008 safety scandals that tainted the industry's image

“We can relieve pain and bring happiness to patients and bring patients and doctors closer together.”

Wang Yongsheng， a trainee at a China-Israel joint medical clown training center at the Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital in Chengdu， speaking at the center's inauguration on August 12