YOUNG-GENERATION DEPUTY

Xu Ping， the youngest deputy to the 13th National Peoples Congress （NPC） from southwest Chinas Sichuan Province， has recently received widespread attention in the Chinese media.

Born in 1995， Xu comes from Qingchuan County in Guangyuan City， Sichuan， which was heavily affected by the 8.0-magnitude earthquake that struck in 2008. Xu， who was a junior middle school student at the time， received a lot of help following the disaster.

Now Xu wants to reward the kindness of those who helped her by giving back herself. She is responsible for an artists forum at the culture company where she works in Chengdu， capital of Sichuan.

As an NPC deputy， she wants to contribute to the nations cultural progress by organizing more programs to engage more people.

Higher Milk Standards

Qianjiang Evening News March 8

The fi rst draft of a new national standard for fresh milk has recently been published and solicited public opinion. According to the new standard， fresh milk will be divided into three categories according to the number of bacteria per milliliter. Milk of a higher quality will be sold at correspondingly higher prices. The quality of raw milk will be marked on packages in the future.

Currently， milk of differing quality is usually sold at the same price because a unifi ed standard is applied to all raw milk in China， and many milk companies combine milk of varying quality. The new standard will prompt milk companies to use better milk in pursuit of higher profits and upgrade the entire industrial chain.

The number of small and medium-sized milk farms has reduced sharply， with mostly large companies remaining. The lower standard introduced in 2010 to protect the interests of small producers is therefore outdated. The quality of raw milk depends to a large extent on the hygiene of the production process because the number of bacteria in milk increases exponentially once it is exposed to air. Higher quality milk can be produced only by improving processing technologies and upgrading the milk industry.

However， some Internet users have expressed concern that milk companies might mix low- and high-quality milk in order to save costs. Regulatory departments should therefore strictly enforce the new standard to avoid the exploitation of customers. Additives should also be strictly controlled to reduce health risks.

Decoding Supervisory Reform

China Newsweek March 12

Reform of the supervisory system is perhaps one of the most closely watched political developments in China of late.

Pilot reform of the system started in Beijing， Shanxi and Zhejiang in December 2016 and was expanded nationwide in November last year.

A draft supervision law was submitted for its third reading at the First Session of the 13th National Peoples Congress， Chinas top legislature， on March 13. Supervisory commissions will be established at the national， provincial， city and county levels.

The reform was initiated as existing supervisory institutions were unable to meet the demands of the increasingly complicated anti-corruption campaign.

Supervisory and corruption prevention agencies within the government and procuratorates have been merged as part of the reform. Different departments under the supervisory commissions cooperate and restrict each other to ensure effi ciency and objectivity.

The subjects of supervision have also been expanded. For instance， Shanxi Province has included those who hold key positions in state-owned enterprises （SOEs）， such as accountants and cashiers， as sub-jects of supervision， while in the past， only the management of SOEs was monitored.

Supervisory commissions are entrusted to oversee state functionaries， investigate corruption cases such as bribery， embezzlement and abuse of power， impose administrative penalties on corrupt offi cials， and hand over criminal cases to prosecutors.

The new system attaches more importance to supervision. Overall in the three pilot areas there are more supervisory departments than case investigation departments under the supervisory commissions. It is hoped that illegal behavior can be curbed in its initial phase through supervision.

Improving the Quality of Art

Guangzhou Daily March 8

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang vowed to “provide rich cultural nourishment to help our people to live better lives” and “see that art and literature fl ourish” in the government work report released on March 5.

China enjoys a fl ourishing culture. However， the imbalanced and inadequate development of the culture-related market and industry is still far from meeting peoples expectations. For example， although China has long been the largest producer of TV series in the world， around half of its new television series never even reach peoples screens due to problems with quality， resulting in huge wastage. Domestic TV series of premium quality are lacking and the quality of cultural products should be improved to boost the creation of art and literature and satisfy peoples needs.

A people-centered approach should be adopted in the creation of cultural works. A number of TV shows， dramas and films have been successful because they have won the recognition of the people. There is no lack of stories and materials that have the potential to be developed into classic cultural products today. Only works which refl ect peoples lives and meet their needs can touch audiences.

In creating TV programs， quality should be made the highest priority. For instance， the TV series Journey to the West， adapted from the eponymous novel written in the Ming Dynasty （1368-1644）， had taken years to be produced under a tight budget.

Writers and artists should produce more masterpieces by representing ordinary peoples lives and improving the quality of their work.

ACCLAIMED HONG KONG DIRECTOR

Veteran Hong Kong director Dante Lam has recently attracted public attention for his militarythemed film Operation Red Sea， which premiered on February 16. As of March 13， the film had made 3.36 billion yuan （$531 million） at the box office， making it the third highest-grossing film ever screened in China， according to Maoyan， an online source of data on the film industry.

The movie tells the story of a Chinese Navy task force， the Jiaolong Assault Team， as they save Chinese and foreign nationals from war and foil a terrorist plot to obtain nuclear materials to make dirty bombs. It is loosely based on the evacuation of hundreds of Chinese citizens and foreign nationals from Yemens southern port of Aden during the Yemeni Civil War in 2015.

Born in Hong Kong in 1965， Lam is known for his action films and won the Best Director Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1998.

“Chinas continued economic growth is important for global economic growth， prosperity and stability.”

Leela Mani Paudyal， Nepali Ambassador to China， speaking in a recent interview with Xinhua.net

“The culture of zero-tolerance against corruption has become ingrained in the psyche of the Chinese people. This is a model for other countries， including Cambodia.”

Om Yentieng， head of Cambodias Anti-Corruption Unit， speaking in a recent interview

“China doesnt want a trade war with the United States and will not start one， but can handle any related challenges and will defend the interests of the nation and the Chinese people.”

Zhong Shan， Minister of Commerce， speaking at a press conference in Beijing on March 11

“The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope （FAST） has huge scientific potential and it may detect unprecedented signals during searches for pulsars， which will help us in further studies on astrophysics and basic physics.”

Zhang Pei， a scientist with the National Astronomical Observatories of China， speaking on March 13 about FASTs discovery of 11 new pulsars