LI PENG DIES AT 91

LI PENG DIES AT 91

Li Peng， former Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress （NPC）， Chinas top legislative body， died of an illness in Beijing at the age of 91 on July 22.

Li， the son of a revolutionary martyr， was born in Shanghai. He became a member of the Communist Party of China in 1945 and was sent to study in the Soviet Union three years later. He served in several vice-ministerial and ministerial positions before assuming the post of vice premier in 1983.

Li was appointed as premier in 1988. In 1998， he was elected as chairman of the NPC Standing Committee. He retired from the post in 2003.

Li was a prominent leader of Chinas power industry and a key pioneer in the nuclear power sector. He played an important role in the decision-making and construction of the Three Gorges Dam—a massive flood-control and hydropower project on the Yangtze River. He also worked to promote Chinas socialist market economy， democracy and rule of law.

More Security for Employees

Beijing Youth Daily July 23 Recently， Chinas leading on-demand services provider Meituan and the China Charities Aid Foundation for Children jointly launched a charity program for delivery workers children who suffer from major diseases or had accidents.

The program allows not only Meituans delivery workers but also those from other delivery platforms to apply for aid of up to 50，000 yuan （$7，265）.

Most of these workers have both their parents and children to look after. What they earn is the major source of income for their families and therefore ensuring their stable employment guarantees the livelihood of these families. If a workers children or parents suffer from major diseases or accidents， he or she will face huge fi nancial and mental pressure.

In order to stabilize employment， not only should workers capabilities be improved through training and more jobs created， but also more substantial aid should be provided for their parents and children.

Moreover， employers should provide social security coverage for employees according to law. In the food delivery industry， for instance， many companies havent paid social security contributions in full， resulting in delivery workers not receiving adequate benefi ts. The problem needs to be solved in order to ensure higher-quality and adequate employment.

Ningxias Progress

Outlook Weekly July 22

At a vocational college in northwest Chinas Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region， a student simulates a futures transaction online. This has been made possible thanks to the Internet Plus education strategy implemented in the region since last July.

The strategy is only one of the many reforms carried out in the region in recent years.

In 2017， Ningxia set the goal of realizing economic prosperity， ethnic unity， a beautiful environment and peoples affluence in order to complete building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020 together with the rest of the country.

Another innovation is the Internet Plus medical care strategy that has not only benefited local people but also people in Africa. In March， the No.1 Peoples Hospital in Yinchuan， capital of Ningxia， helped Chinese doctors in Benin in West Africa to conduct an operation through telemedicine.

In addition， Ningxia has prioritized peoples well-being. A series of programs have been launched to solve the problem of drinking water for people in arid areas. The regional government spent 76 percent of its f iscal revenue last year on guaranteeing and improving peoples livelihood.

Moreover， in order to create a more favorable business environment， Ningxia has improved services for enterprises by streamlining administrative procedures. For instance， the approval process for starting a hospital was reduced from 215 days to just seven days.

In addition， the region reduced the burden on enterprises by 21.3 billion yuan （$3.1 billion） by implementing tax and fee cuts in 2018.

Popularizing Science Online

Guangming Daily July 23

A group of PhD students live-streaming scientifi c knowledge in a light-hearted manner on Bilibili， a popular Chinese video-sharing platform， have attracted widespread attention. The students are from the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and their live-stream once attracted a record 1.44 million viewers.

When science meets Web culture， no clash occurs. Instead， the fusion creates an innovative way to popularize science which has gained favor among young people.

The students， with the double identity of scientifi c researchers and Internet users， seem to have done this just for fun， but they are in fact popularizing science. What will happen if an atomic bomb is thrown into a typhoon eye？ Why hasnt the sun evaporated？ Why dont raindrops hurt people since they fall from so high？ These questions， which seem playful， point to peoples desire to learn about the unknown. Its also lovely to see scientists from authoritative institutions in casual clothes in labs attentively answering questions from fans.

Its impossible to get all academicians to webcast and become Internet celebrities. However， more communication between the scientifi c community and the lay public is not that hard.

Its both fun and meaningful for research fellows from a top scientifi c research institution to discuss absurd questions such as how to blow up the moon with netizens in a serious manner.

NEUROSCIENTIST AWARDED

Hu Hailan， a professor of neuroscience at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou， capital of east Chinas Zhejiang Province， was awarded the 12th IBRO-Kemali International Prize for research in the fi eld of basic and clinical neurosciences.

In a statement on July 15， the IBRO-Kemali Foundation Prize Committee said Hu was selected in recognition of her impressive work on the fundamental neurobiological mechanisms of emotional and affective behaviors. “Overall， she has an outstanding productivity and a well-established， high profi le in systems neuroscience， a rapidly expanding and very competitive fi eld，” it said.

This is the first time the prize， which is awarded every two years to an outstanding researcher under the age of 45， has been awarded to a scientist outside Europe or North America since its inception in 1998.

Hu graduated from Peking University in 1996 and the University of California， Berkeley in 2002. She joined Zhejiang University as executive director of the Center for Neuroscience in 2015.

“We can learn about what reforms China has made and how to implement them in the fields of politics， the economy， international relations， society， science and technology， and environmental protection.”

U Ko Ko Hlaing， Chairman of Myanmars Center for Strategic and International Studies， commenting on Chinese President Xi Jinpings books on governance

“China has always actively supported the International Atomic Energy Agency （IAEA） and Yukiya Amanos work， and achieved fruitful outcomes through engaging in all-around， multi-tiered pragmatic cooperation with the agency.”

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying， speaking about the role of IAEA Director General Amano， who passed away on July 21， in advancing the agencys cooperation with China

“Our increasingly mature artificial rainfall and desalination， underground water exploration， water recycling， rainwater purification and water-saving irrigation technologies are all good choices for African countries to solve water shortage problems.”

Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Zhang Yiming at the China-Africa Water Forum in Windhoek on July 22

“Academic research suggests that Chinas affordable exports have enabled consumers in the West to improve their real purchasing power by hundreds， and in some cases thousands， of U.S. dollars every year.”

Keshmeer Makun， a lecturer at the University of the South Pacifics School of Economics based in the Fijian capital Suva， in a recent interview