CHINESE FLAG BEARER FOR TOKYO OLYMPICS

CHINESE FLAG BEARER FOR TOKYO OLYMPICS

The Chinese Olympic Committee （COC） announced late on July 17 that it has selected Chinas first-ever Olympic gold medalist in taekwondo， Zhao Shuai， as one of the two national flag-bearers for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Summer Games.

Born in 1995， Zhao began training in taekwondo at the age of 9. Today he is one of Chinas top taekwondo athletes. At the Rio Olympics in 2016， Zhao made history by winning Chinas first Olympic gold medal in mens taekwondo when he triumphed in the 58kg category. Later he won gold medals at the 2017 World Championships.

In addition to Zhao， volleyball star Zhu Ting has also been named as a flag-bearer for the Chinese delegation， becoming the countrys first female flag-bearer at an Olympic Summer Games.

Natural Disaster Census

Peoples Daily July 19

China has recently launched its first nationwide census on its overall natural disaster risks， which will be completed in two years. The census considers China among the countries most affected by natural disasters in terms of their variety， frequency and damage caused.

The census represents a comprehensive survey of the countrys natural disasters and the overall resilience to them. It will acquire 22 types of disastercausing information regarding seismic， geological， meteorological and marine disasters， as well as floods， droughts and forest and grassland fires. The population， housing， infrastructure， public service systems， industries， resources and environment and other disaster-bearing bodies are also key subjects for study.

The census is regarded as laying the foundations for improving the countrys ability to prevent and respond to natural disasters. It will also provide reference for the planning of national land use and help increase public knowledge on disaster prevention.

Comic Charm

Lifeweek July 19

In the 1980s， China Central Television and Guangdong TV introduced two Japanese cartoons， Astro Boy and Doraemon. Both stories achieved success in China with a high audience rating.

Another phenomenon was the rise of the so-called rent-a-book stores， a paradise for comic readers as comics accounted for half of the books on the shelves. Getting a store membership became the thing to do， allowing fans to rent any comic book for 0.1 yuan （$1.5 cents） a day. The new opportunity attracted many aficionados with a hunger for reading，especially students with little pocket money.