NEWLY APPOINTED UN PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE

Ma Zhaoxu， Chinas new Permanent Representative to the UN Office at Geneva（UNOG）， presented his credentials to UNOG Director General Michael Moller on April 6.

Ma said that Geneva has earned its name as one of the most dynamic centers of multilateral diplomacy. It provides an important platform for the international community to discuss and resolve multilateral issues in political， economic， social and other areas， he added.

Ma joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1987. The veteran diplomat served as the ministrys spokesperson before becoming assistant foreign minister in 2011. He was named Chinas ambassador to Australia two years later， a position that he held until his latest appointment. Ma studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the 1990s， and holds a PhD degree.

Housed at the Palais des Nations， the UNOG is the largest UN office site outside its headquarters in New York City.

Public Safety Is Everybodys Responsibility

Changjiang Daily April 7

A recent video showing a young woman assaulted and dragged by a man in a Beijing hotel has gone viral. The footage， shot by the hotels surveillance video camera， was posted online by the young woman allegedly assaulted in the video.

The video shows a woman being dragged by a stranger in a corridor of the hotel after she checked in. She shouted for help but several hotel staff workers and guests just stood by without doing anything. Eventually， a female guest helped pull the woman away from the man， who ran away and was arrested several days later in central Chinas Henan Province.

The case has aroused a heated debate among netizens because its ridiculous that a customer surrounded by bystanders， in a highend hotel no less， should get no help when being assaulted—or that the suspect should manage to escape.

The hotel is also to blame for its indifference in this case. Although it has installed video cameras in key areas， there was nobody on duty in the monitoring room. This has led some to question the hotels purpose for installing the video cameras. Are they meant to ensure the safety of its guests or just keep records in case a criminal case occurs？

Public safety relies on everyones efforts. Everybody should play their roles in order to deter criminals.

Frequent Meetings Between Chinese and U.S. Presidents

Outlook Weekly April 4

Since September last year， Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama have met on three occasions. The meetings took place during Xis state visit to the United States last September， the UN Climate Change Conference held in Paris last November， and the recently concluded fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit in Washington， D.C. The two leaders will meet again in Hangzhou， east Chinas Zhejiang Province， in September for the G20 Summit.

Frequent interactions highlight the increasing interdependence of the two countries. Economically， China and the United States are highly dependent on each other. This requires timely communication between the two leaders in order to inform each other of their macroeconomic policies and assure each other of their economic agendas.

Globalization also entails frequent meetings between the two， as it has given rise to cross-border problems， such as nuclear proliferation， terrorism， cross-border crimes and climate change. All these problems cannot be solved by solely relying on any one country. As the worlds two largest economies， China and the United States need to shoul-der greater responsibilities and play bigger roles in solving these problems.

Regular communication between the two leaders will also contribute to the management of differences in a timely and constructive manner. As China faces increasing pressure from the United States regarding a series of issues， such as strategic positioning， the South China Sea and cyber security， effective communication between the two sides is of particular significance to managing differences and avoiding conflicts.

Farmers Need More Information About the Market

Shaanxi Daily April 11

Pork prices have soared in China since February. In Changchun in northeast Chinas Jilin Province， the average cost of pork， a major source of meat in China， reached 29.6 yuan （$4.6） a kg in March， the highest for the same period in six years.

The rise in pork prices can partly be attributed to the lack of information possessed by farmers. Most farmers lack basic knowledge of the market economy； therefore they decide which crops to grow or livestock to herd based on information gathered from the media or other people. For instance， when they find that pork prices are rising， they would scramble to feed pigs. As a result， the oversupply of pigs causes the pork prices to drop. When the pork prices drop， they turn to other agricultural products.

As its hard for farmers to grasp the law of the market in the short term， local governments should provide more information and guidance to them. This represents the key to stabilizing agriculture prices and promoting the healthy development of the market economy. Better information services to farmers are critical to the success of rural reforms.

VICE GOVERNOR APPEARS IN COURT

Chen Mingming， Vice Governor of southwest Chinas Guizhou Province， appeared in court over a land requisition dispute with a farmer on April 11. This is the first time a leading official from a provincial government in China has been summoned to court in an administrative lawsuit case.

The plaintiff， Ding Jiaqiang， demanded the Guizhou Provincial Government revoke a compensation scheme for a highway project. Ding claimed there was no public consultation on the compensation plan and the compensation was too low.

Chen said if the court finds any errors on the part of the government， it is willing to correct them. Chen， 59， became vice governor of Guizhou in 2013. He is responsible for education， civil affairs， human resources， social insurance and public services.

The revision of the Administrative Procedure Law， which came into effect last May， has enabled citizens to more easily sue the government.

“China remained one of the most popular investment locations for foreign direct investment with the United States and the European Union in 2015.”

Douglas van den Berghe， CEO of Investment Consulting Associates， commenting on foreign investment in China when presenting a report at the Sixth Annual Investment Meeting in Dubai on April 11

“Signing this agreement enables our institutions to finance development projects together， and that is an important first step toward working with a new partner to address the worlds huge infrastructure needs.”

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim， commenting on the signing of a co-financing framework agreement with the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Washington， D.C.， on April 13

“I hope to tell you more about my life and work through this page and also to learn from you in reply.”

Stephen Hawking， British theoretical physicist and cosmologist， greeting the Chinese in the first entry on his Sina Weibo microblogging account on April 12， which attracted 1.3 million followers in eight hours

“Your support will surely save lives and alleviate the suffering of our people and the government.”

Awut Deng Achuil， South Sudans Humanitarian Affairs Minister， expressing gratitude for the Chinese donation of 1，700 tons of rice， as part of the efforts to help the nation deal with a humanitarian crisis