THIS WEEK PEOPLE

“It’s still a fledging sector and not a wellrespected career. The starting salary is not very attractive， and it’s frustrating that a social worker with 10 years’ experience earns little more than a rookie.” Wang Tianzi， a social worker at Peking University Sixth Hospital， commenting on the country’s lack of social workers on August 25

“It is natural to see more people pursuing multiple options in education to meet the needs of their children since each is unique.”

Yuan Fangyan， a researcher from the 21st Century Education Research Institute， in response to its survey issued on August 24 showing that about 18，000 children on the Chinese mainland now receive their education at home

“More social and economic policies favoring girls will be introduced to gradually adjust the social norm， where males are preferred as they carry the familZ50d/ssfa1AjfnU9t/LLsA==y name and later support their parents.”

Chen Zhu， Vice Chairman of the 12th National People’s Congress Standing Committee， commenting on a long-term skewed sex ratio of births on the mainland， which now stands at about 117.7 boys for every 100 girls

“Reporting on acts of extreme violence is a double-edged sword because cases may spark copycat attacks by people with psychological problems， but at the same time， the public needs to be informed of such events.”

Ma Ai， a professor of criminal psychology at China University of Political Science and Law， on August 26

NEW WTO OFFICIAL？

Yi Xiaozhun， China’s permanent representative to the WTO， was appointed as its deputy director general on August 17， the first Chinese to assume the role. Yi has worked on international trade issues since the 1980s. He was China’s vice minister of commerce before taking office in Geneva as the country’s permanent representative to the organization in 2011. Yi， along with three other deputies， will begin his term on October 1.

CHINESE NIGHTINGALE？

Zou Defeng， a nurse from Nanchang， Jiangxi Province， was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal for her outstanding contribution to healthcare together with five other nurses from across the country on August 24. Zou， 57， has been a nurse for 41 years. In 1993， to make up for a weak point in domestic community healthcare， she created a series of models in her province that provide medical care to the elderly and dying at their homes and solve disputes between doctors and patients. In 2002， she established a medical volunteer team under the guidance of the provincial Red Cross Society， absorbing over 1，600 people to take part in voluntary community service. Introduced in 1912， the Florence Nightingale Medal is the highest international honor for nurses. Altogether 68 Chinese nurses have won it since 1983.