MOVIE STAR’S TAX SCANDAL

Famous Chinese actress Fan Bingbing， who has featured in dozens of movies and TV series， has been ordered to pay taxes and fi nes worth 883 million yuan （$127 million） over tax evasion.

Tax authorities said they started investigating Fan in early June after receiving information from members of the public that Fan had evaded tax through contract frauds.

In a publicly released letter of apology， the 37-year-old said she felt ashamed that she committed tax evasion. “I have realized that as a public fi gure， I should have observed the law， setting a good example for society and the industry，” she said.

The State Taxation Administration said it would launch a new campaign to regulate tax payments in the fi lm and TV industry.

Holiday Dilemmas

China Youth Daily October 9

After the weeklong National Day Holiday， people have returned to work， though not everybody basked in the glory of an extended vacation. For many employees， the heavy burden of work means holidays lasting several days is a rare and hard-won occurrence. However， tourist numbers at many domestic attractions and sites peaked during the Golden Week， with people forced to choose between staying at home and struggling against the tide of tourists.

Many people have the appeal for longer holidays since the current public offerings are inadequate. However， prolonging holidays may not be the optimum solution. The length of official Chinese holidays， totaling 11 days， has exceeded the international average. Yet people still fi nd holidays insuffi cient as the intervals between holidays can be extensive. The policy of paid annual leave has also not been fully implemented in China.

In many countries， employees benefit from offi cial holidays in addition to paid annual leave， eschewing the crowds witnessed during Chinese holidays. It is thought that merely extending public holidays may impact domestic economic development adversely and fail to reduce congestion at attractions. The policy of paid annual leave needs to be better carried out in China to provide a feasible solution to the problem.

The policy needs to go further than simply adding more days to a holiday entitlement. Relevant sectors need to strengthen supervision and formulate comprehensive supporting policies to ensure its implementation.

Flourishing Films

Oriental Outlook October 11

Along with the progress of reform and opening up， the Chinese film industry has also made remarkable achievements amid economic growth. It has recorded social changes in the past decades through the medium of the film. The film market of China has exceeded that of North America， becoming the largest in the world during the fi rst season of 2018.

In the initial stage of reform and opening up， old Chinese movies were rescreened and foreign movies dubbed. Both these practices ignited audiences passion for movies. In 1979， the attendance of Chinese moviegoers reached a record high of 29.3 billion. However， the popularity of televisions and other entertainment activities in the late 1980s drew many audiences away from movies when the film industry fell from its peak and faced a crisis.

The employment of a socialist market economy in China in 1992 promoted the rejuvenation of the domestic f ilm industry. With the introduction of free competition and reforms， the Chinese film industry made a bountiful recovery and experienced rapid growth. In the same period， China began to introduce overseas movies into the domestic market， especially those from Hollywood. Despite the argument that foreign movies occupy the space of domestic ones， Chinese movies with increasingly higher quality have gained a fi rm foothold in the local market with box offi ces setting several new records.

The development of the Internet has injected new energy into the Chinese fi lm industry. In 2015， Internet giants such as Tencent and Alibaba developed their own film arms and began to purchase intellectual property rights to popular online stories to be adapted into movies. With big data， more accurate marketing strategies can target specifi c audiences to satisfy their personal preferences. Since the development of online cinemas may pose threats to the survival of offl ine ones， the fi lm industry is also exploring more advanced fi lm screening technologies to provide audiences with an improved movie experience.

Improving Manufacturing

Peoples Daily October 8

According to many domestic chip manufacturers， this niche market calls for greater efforts in independent research and development. Both upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain are still developing in an unbalanced manner， lacking design and manufacturing capabilities.

The key to solving the manufacturing conundrum is closely integrating production， employee development， and research. The focus of Chinas economy is shifting from highspeed growth to high-quality and sustainable development. It is imperative to not only improve the quality of production but the whole manufacturing system.

The gap between upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain should be narrowed to bring together technologies， the manufacturing process， and products to actualize.

In a bid to achieve coordinated industrial development， application platforms are especially important for domestic independent research and development technologies. Depending too heavily on fully fledged foreign technologies will hinder domestic development. Although the concern of some enterprises that innovative local products are not dependable enough seems reasonable， relevant policies and support are required to reduce the innovation costs of enterprises and provide innovative products to larger markets.

The fractured and changing global economic and trade landscape also calls for more cooperation between domestic enterprises. Against such a backdrop， the development of Chinese companies is more closely affiliated with the global market. Therefore， Chinese enterprises need to develop a coherent and harmonious process to achieve common progress.

VICE MINISTER FACES PROBE

Meng Hongwei， Vice Minister of Public Security， is under investigation by the National Supervisory Commission， an anticorruption body inaugurated in March to intensify supervision over those working in the public sector.

Meng， 65， was charged with alleged bribe-taking and violations of law. He was vice minister of public security and head of China Coast Guard before being elected president of the France-based International Criminal Police Organization （Interpol） in November 2016 when he retained the positions in China.

Meng has tended a written resignation to Interpol. The case demonstrates Chinas resolve to pursue law-based state governance and combat corruption， Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.

“China is deeply concerned about the unresolved issue of inequitable geographic distribution of United Nations staff in the Secretariat and hopes for an early solution.”

Ma Zhaoxu， Chinese Ambassador to the UN， speaking about UN human resources management reform on October 9

“By strengthening our ties in the field of education， we will contribute to creating a new generation of Chinese and Serbian people who have even better understanding of each other.”

Yuan Jigang， in charge of education at the Chinese Embassy in Serbia， at a China-Serbia higher education seminar on October 10

“Today I think the big advantage of Asia is the confidence of technology and confidence of the Internet.”

Jack Ma， founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba， via a video call during the China Conference organized by South China Morning Post in Kuala Lumpur on October 10

“A friend in need is a friend indeed， and for that reason， China has truly proven to be our friend indeed through its support in different sectors in this country.”

Joyce Ndalichako， Tanzanian Minister for Education， Science and Technology， speaking in Dar es Salaam earlier this month at a farewell for the students and medical staff going to China to study on Chinese scholarships