CHINESE DIRECTOR WINS SIFF AWARD

CHINESE DIRECTOR WINS SIFF AWARD

Chinese director Zhou Ziyang， 38， won the award for best director at the 25th edition of the Sofia International Film Festival （SIFF） in the Bulgarian capital on March 21.

The award was given for Zhous film Wuhai， which tells the story of a young couple who struggle with financial problems， split and get back together after a storm.

The SIFF is the biggest film festival in Bulgaria and the only Bulgarian film festival recognized by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations.

Wuhai， meaning black sea， is Zhous second feature film. He won the award for best young director given by the Chinese Film Directors Guild for his first feature film Old Beast， the story of a selfish man who gambles away his money while his wife is ill at home and his worsening relationship with his children.

Avoiding Campus Loan Trap

People.com.cn March 19

On March 17， five authorities including the Ministry of Education and Peoples Bank of China， announced that microlending platforms have been banned from giving consumer loans to college students.

College students are a special consumption group. Though some of them earn money from scholarships or internships， the majority needs parental support to cover their basic needs. As they have not yet formed a mature attitude toward consumption， they are likely to run into the problems of impulsive spending and excessive spending if they have access to money.

University campuses have become the targets of those platforms that issue online consumer loans， causing some students to overspend and fall into debt traps.

In addition to having a detrimental effect on a students personal and college life， this also damages the order and credit of the financial market.

The authorities have asked the lenders to gradually reduce their loans to students while organizations without a financial license cannot offer credit services to college students.

Fund Investment

Lifeweek March 15

In 2021， fund products have become popular among young people， replacing fashion， relationships and celebrity gossip as the subject of their conversations. In fact， they got wide attention last year， when they increased by over 3 trillion yuan （$460.2 billion）， reaching 18 trillion yuan （$2.8 trillion）， a five-year high.

Entering the new year， the market scale of the fund has continued to expand， as well as the number of investors. The first two months of 2021 saw domestic public funds add over 700 billion yuan（$107.4 billion）， doubling from the same period last year.

The COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown measures to contain the disease plunged the global economy into a severe contraction. So people began to seek methods like investing in funds to avoid devaluing their assets.

In both the domestic stock market and the international capital market， most retail investors are at the low end of the food chain， and only a small number of them have been rewarded. That makes the products operated by experienced fund managers a practical choice.

However， the long-term investment strategy of fund managers means it will take a long time for people to see returns on their investment. But people generally think of short-term trade， adjusting their investment when the market fluctuates. This goes against the law of profit in terms of fund investment and puts greater pressure on the market.

Sleep Problems

Beijing Youth Daily March 22

Nearly 60 percent of young Chinese surveyed recently by China Youth Daily said they habitually go to bed late and barely fall asleep before 11 p.m. The survey was conducted to mark the 21st World Sleep Day， March 21.

Of the 2，002 survey respondents aged between 18 and 35， only 8.5 percent said their average sleeping time exceeds eight hours. Over four fifths said they usually sleep between six and eight hours a night. Nearly half of the respondents suffer from excessive dreaming， light sleeping and early awakening and other sleep problems.

Poor sleep quality is harmful to both physical and mental health， weakening the immune system and causing emotional irritability. Staying up late is a major reason for this.

Case studies have proved that excessive sitting up late increases the risk of cancer， diabetes and depression， which cannot be reversed by medical care and other approaches.

Today， over 300 million Chinese are facing sleep disturbances， according to the Chinese Sleep Research Society. It is urgent to remind those late nighters to go to bed earlier.

NEW CHAIRPERSON FOR PINDUODUO

Chen Lei， CEO of major e-commerce player Pinduoduo， assumed the position of chairperson on March 17， after 41-year-old Huang Zheng stepped down to focus on scientific research.