EXPERIENCED OFFICIAL GUIDES NEW AREA

Xu Qin， former Mayor and Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC）， was appointed deputy Secretary of the CPC Hebei Provincial Committee on April 1， the same day when plans for the Xiongan New Area were announced. He was appointed acting governor of Hebei on April 7.

Having served as the mayor of Shenzhen for the longest term of nearly seven years， Xu is expected to bring the experiences of the special economic zone to Hebei to guide the construction of Xiongan， a landmark new area near Beijing.

Born in Lianyungang City of east Chinas Jiangsu Province， Xu received his bachelors and masters degrees in optoelectronics from the Beijing Institute of Technology. He worked for the National Development and Reform Commission from 1987 to 2010. He concurrently served as deputy mayor of Shenzhen from 2008 to 2010 and became mayor of the city in 2010. During his tenure in Shenzhen， Xu attached great importance to scientific innovation.

Private Lending Woes

China Youth Daily March 30

An incident in Liaocheng City in east Chinas Shandong Province， in which a man reportedly killed a debt collector who harassed his mother for payment， underlines the difficulties small businesses have in getting fi nancing.

Private lending， an important borrowing channel for them， however operates from a grey area. The booming of such an industry shows the financial industrys lack of openness. Most of Chinas fi nancial institutions are state-owned and unwilling to issue loans to private enterprises for fear of higher risks compared with lending to state-owned companies. Although the government has unveiled a series of favorable financial policies for small and mediumsized private enterprises， they have not made state-owned banks shed their concern about risks.

Private lending has therefore thrived. But it is rife with problems. According to the law， the interest rate of private lending should not exceed four times that of banks. Excessive interest is not protected by law. As a result， if they set an exceedingly high interest rate， lenders cannot resort to legal means for a solution if a dispute occurs. Therefore， some may turn to violence.

Legislation should be stepped up to regulate private lending in order to protect the legal interests of both lenders and borrowers， and to crack down on the use of violence and blackmail in collecting payment.

Consular Challenge

Oriental Outlook March 30

To meet the rising demand for consular protection for overseas Chinese， Chinas Foreign Ministry and its missions abroad launched a 24-hour hotline in 2014 to assist the diaspora. The WeChat public account established to publish overseas security information in 2014 has over 160，000 subscribers. An account has also been opened on news app Toutiao to release consular affairs-related news since July 2016.

However， more needs to be done as the demand for consular protection soars. There are only around 600 staff stationed in Chinese missions abroad who are responsible for dealing with consular affairs.

In 2016， the ministry and its embassies and consulates abroad handled over 100，000 cases， equivalent to one case in every five minutes. The ministry should therefore strengthen cooperation with other countries and non-governmental organizations such as overseas Chinese societies. For instance， China and the UK conducted their fi rst simulated joint evacuation exercise in 2016 to increase international collaboration in consular protection.

The emergency response system should take into consideration economic costs and long-term consequences instead of simply effi ciency. For instance， although the evacuation of more than 35，000 Chinese from strife-torn Libya in 2011 was successful， the high cost of the operation makes such a case hard to replicate. A stronger sense of safety should be cultivated among overseas Chinese while laws and regulations on consular protection should be improved.

Personal Data Protection

Yangcheng Evening News March 28

Cainiao， the logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba， is joining hands with other logistics companies to phase out the display of consumers personal information， such as names and phone numbers， on delivery notes. Consumers names and part of their phone numbers are to be replaced with asterisks. Couriers will be able to contact recipients through an app. The new practice reduces the risk of unauthorized collection of personal information during the process of delivery.

Concealing personal information on delivery sheets will help to ensure information security and public safety. However， the practice also has loopholes. Once the vast amount of personal information stored in the delivery app is hacked， it will become a commodity to trade in return for profi ts.

Personal information leakage through delivery notes is only the tip of the iceberg of information theft in China. Apps which attempt to get users geographical location or to read their text messages or contacts are mushrooming. In certain industries， such as telecom， staff members who have access to customers personal information may take advantage of their position to steal and sell information.

To solve the problem， on one hand， the legislation of a personal information protection law should be accelerated to strengthen protection and punish violators. On the other hand， other industries should follow in the footsteps of the delivery sector to enhance personal information protection.

WRITER GAINING POPULARITY FOR ANTI-GRAFT DRAMA

Zhou Meisen， a writer specializing in political novels， has gained widespread attention for his latest novel In the Name of the People， which was adapted into a 56-episode TV series and began airing on March 28 on Hunan TV.

The drama is built around a complex corruption case brought to light by confl icts at a factory in a fi ctional province. In order to write the novel， Zhou visited a prison to interview inmates and also talked to police offi cers and procurators who dealt with corruption cases.

The 61-year-old Zhou is familiar with offi cialdom as he served as deputy secretary general for the city government of Xuzhou， Jiangsu Province， in the 1990s. He gained initial fame with his 1983 novella The Sinking Land， and became one of the bestknown Chinese writers on the political ecosystem.

He is now a member of the presidium of the China WritersAssociation and deputy head of the Jiangsu Provincial WritersAssociation.

“With simplified procedures and less time spent， the registration went smoothly under the new law.”

Jacob Parker， Vice President of China Operations of the U.S.-China Business Council， commenting on a new law regulating overseas NGOs adopted last year

“Chinese manufacturers are slowly but steadily embracing branding as their primary strategic driver of financial value.”

Martin Roll， a global business and brand strategist， speaking of the country-of-origin effect in an interview with China Daily

“The softness makes it possible for the robots to work more effectively and safely with humans.”

Wang Tianmiao， a robotics engineer with the Beijing-based Beihang University， commenting on the octopus-inspired soft robotic arm developed by the universitys researchers for medical use

“Of course， if the relationship is poorly managed， if the negotiations with China on trade dont go well， and if tariffs are imposed on China， Americans will quickly see the effect， which would be an increase in the price of goods.”

Avery Goldstein， a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania， telling Xinhua News Agency in a recent interview