Media Watch

TOO OLD TOO FAST South Reviews April 26

Many young chinese of the post-80s and 90s generation claim to be experiencing a “midlife crisis，” judging by their online comments.

self-deprecating online posts like “i am a middle-aged woman born in 1988” or “this 34-year-old dad is so lucky to have a son at such an old age” recently went viral among young chinese， who are supposed to be vibrant and energetic.

South Reviews looks at reasons behind this phenomenon and ways to re-energize young people. From a social perspective， the magazine attributes early psychological maturity of young people partly to their early exposure to pressures usually associated with adulthood. this is often a result of drastic changes brought on by technological progress. Being excessively preoccupied with worldly success could explain why the younger generation feel older and ahead of their time. this also deprives them of the chance to experience the passion and energy of youth.

A solution to this could be for young people， individually， to find their inner motivation and connect themselves with the real world to realize their inspirations through concrete actions. society as a whole should also make efforts to create a favorable environment.

MORE RESPECT FOR TECHNICIANS Guangming Daily May 3

china has a shortage of 10 million senior technicians， according to a report published by the social sciences Academic Press earlier this year. the lack of senior technicians is not new in china. the question is how come such a problem has persisted in spite of continuous government efforts to address it.

First， demand for senior technical staff has been constantly on the rise during the transformation and upgrading of chinas manufacturing industry； second， few people are willing to be a technician， owing to the lack of recognition of and respect for the profession. Parents prefer their children to enroll at universities rather than undergo vocational education， regardless of the difficulty college graduates have in finding employment.

in addition to low social status， technical workers often have limited opportunity for career development. A technician may spend his or her whole working life doing tedious labor in a factory and often working overtime.

therefore， to fundamentally solve the problem， a social atmosphere which values craftsmanship and respects technicians should be created. in addition to increasing technicians income， hurdles hampering their career development should be cleared to enable young people to have confidence in the prospects of the profession.

EMBRACING AI China Newsweek April 24

The rapid development of artificial intelligence（Ai） is increasingly impacting social life and commercial models in china and throughout the world.

in china， Ai is also widely used in the real economy. According to estimates by McKinsey， automation based on Ai can contribute 0.8 to 1.4 percentage points to chinas annual GdP growth. At a time when chinas demographic dividends are disappearing， Ai technology will help boost the efficiency of conventional industries.

the shortage of skilled personnel is a major obstacle in chinas Ai technology development. Fewer than 30 universities have Ai labs， with their number of graduates falling far behind the demand. Besides， chinas Ai scientists focus on computer vision and voice recognition， leaving other Ai research areas short of talent. however， its expected that in the upcoming decade Ai will be more widely applied in various aspects of peoples life， and the era of Ai Plus will finally arrive.

SEE A DOCTOR ABROAD Oriental Outlook May 11

An increasing number of chinese patients are seeking medical treatment overseas， as new cases of cancer as well as the number of patients dying of the disease have soared in recent years.

Advanced medical treatment in developed countries such as the u.s. is one of the reasons that attracts chinese patients to go abroad. Also， new medicines for cancer treatment usually become available in developed countries several years before they gain approval in china. Another important reason is that patients are able to receive better services and care in the u.s.， Japan and european countries.

Nevertheless， the high cost of overseas medical services makes it affordable for only a few chinese. Moreover， those seeking treatment overseas should understand that foreign medical institutions cannot cure all diseases. they should also take caution in choosing intermediary institutions， hospitals and doctors.

Behind the rising number of patients pursuing medical services overseas is the improvement of chinas economic strength and peoples quality of life. the trend of crossborder medical services reflects the allocation of medical resources globally. such an allocation is not unidirectional， but bi-directional， as chinese hospitals are also attracting patients from abroad.