PEOPLE/POINTS

Military Spokesman

Senior Colonel Geng Yansheng, the new spokesman for China’s Ministry of National Defense (MND),made his public debut at a press conference in Beijing on July 31.

Geng, 50, began his military service in 1977. He was appointed director of the Information Of fi ce of the MND in April 2010 after working for 16 years in the ministry’s Foreign Affairs Of fi ce. The of ficial resume shows Geng is married, with a son.

Geng’s deputy, Colonel Yang Yujun, will also serve as spokesman for the MND. Yang, 40, studied public policy in the University of London. He is married, with a daughter.

The MND launched the spokesperson system in May 2008 in an effort to increase transparency of matters relating to China’s armed forces.

Internet Leader

Wu Jianping has been awarded the prestigious Jonathan B. Postel Service Award 2010 by the Internet Society (ISOC) for his pioneering role in advancing Internet technology, deployment and education in China and Asia Paci fi c over the last 20 years.

Wu, 57, is a professor at Beijing-based Tsinghua University. He is the first Chinese scientist to receive the highest honor in the Internet world.

Wu began his studies of Internet technology inthe late 1970s. His best-known contribution is the development of the CERNET, China’s first Internet backbone network. Created to establish an advanced nationwide network infrastructure to support education andresearch among universities, CERNET has since become the world’s largest national academic network. Since 1998, Wu has been devoted to the design and development of a large-scale native IPv6 backbone in China,which serves to connect over 200 universities and millions of users.

The ISOC is the organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force,the Internet’s premier technical standards body. The Postel Award was established to honor individuals or organizations making outstanding contributions in service to the data communications community.

“Wanted Journalist”

Qiu Ziming, a reporter with Beijing-Based business weekly The Economic Observer, became a public focus in late July after an unlawful arrest warrant for him triggered widespread concern about journalistic supervision.

The police in Suichang, east China’s Zhejiang Province, issued the warrant on July 23, after Zhejiang Kan Specialty Material Co. Ltd. accused Qiu of defamation.

A review by the police authorities of Lishui, which administers Suichang,found the warrant failed to meet statutory requirements. The Suichang police were ordered to revoke the warrant and apologize to Qiu.

Qiu has published four stories since May in The Economic Observer indicating Shenzhen-listed Kan Specialty Material was involved in insider trading.The publication said Qiu’s reporting was based on sound evidence and it had subjected the reports to extensive scrutiny before publishing them.

“News organizations have the right to know, interview, cover, criticize and monitor events regarding national and public interests. Journalistic activities by news organizations and their reporters are protected by law,” said the General Administration of Press and Publication.