VETERAN PALEONTOLOGIST HONORED

Zhang Miman， also known as Meemann Chang， received the 2018 LOréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Award in Paris， France， on March 22 for her groundbreaking research in vertebrate paleozoology， along with four other recipients.

The 82-year-old Zhang is a paleontologist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology （IVPP） of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. She was nominated for “her pioneering work on fossil records leading to insights on how aquatic vertebrates adapted to life on land，” the UN Educational， Scientifi c and Cultural Organization （UNESCO） said in a statement.

Born in Nanjing， east Chinas Jiangsu Province， Zhang graduated from Moscow University in 1960 and received her PhD from Stockholm University in Sweden in 1982. She served as head of the IVPP from 1983 to 1990. In 2016， Zhang was given the Romer-Simpson Lifetime Achievement Award， the highest prize in vertebrate paleontology.

The LOréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Foundation was founded in 1998 as a result of a partnership between the UN and the French cosmetics company to promote gender equality in science.

Aging Challenges

Nanfang Daily March 20

Aging has become an increasingly prominent concern in China. There were 241 million people over 60 years old in the country at the end of 2017. In addition to a heavier burden for the family， aging also poses challenges for the pension system and public health sector.

As a matter of fact， aging may become a common problem facing all countries in the world as birth rates decrease and life expectancy increases. Only countries which can effectively address the issue by improving social security systems and developing emerging industries will be able to realize sustainable social and economic development.

Currently， more than 900 million Chinese citizens are covered by social endowment insurance and more than 95 percent of the entire population is covered by basic medical insurance， constituting the largest social safety net in the world.

However， problems such as pension fund shortages have occurred in some regions， affecting the sustainability of the pension system. Therefore， the national unified management of pension schemes should be established to transfer funds to provinces in case of need. Commercial endowment insurances should also be promoted to play a supplementary role.

The traditional model of young people supporting their parents at home has also become unrealistic given many young couples are “only children” who have to take care of four parents and who often work some distance away from them. Therefore， more nursing homes should be built in communities to provide services including housekeeping， catering， medical care and cultural activities. A market-based elderly care system is essential to divert private capital to the sector.

Moreover， aging may be transformed into opportunities for development as new technologies such as artificial intelligence might be applied to the elderly care sector to create a new driver of growth.

Better-Functioning Government

China Newsweek March 26

The institutional restructuring plan of the State Council， Chinas cabinet， was adopted on March 17 at the First Session of the 13th National Peoples Congress， the countrys top legislature.

This was the eighth round of institutional reform since the launching of the reform and opening-up drive in the late 1970s. Compared with previous reforms， which focused on streamlining administration and transforming government functions， this round seeks to strengthen the governments ability to confront new challenges in economic and social management， public service and environmental protection.

Previously， ministerial- and vice-ministerial-level entities under the State Council were divided by industries， but the recent changes attempt to separate different entities by functions. For instance， the newly formed Ministry of Emergency Management combines the disaster relief and prevention roles of several different entities including the State Administration of Work Safety and the China Earthquake Administration. Such restructuring greatly improves the governments ability to deal with major disasters and accidents.

Chinas growing global presence is also ref lected in the ongoing reform. For instance， the International Development Cooperation Agency has been established to give full play to the role of foreign aid in major-country diplomacy.

Moreover， the new institutional restructuring is more comprehensive because it involves institutions of the Communist Party of China and the government， legislative and political advisory bodies， judicial and military organs， as well as social groups and nongovernmental organizations， while previous reforms mainly dealt with government institutions and administrative systems.

In recent years， the Partys leadership in certain areas has been weakened owing to the transformation of government functions. A comprehensive reform covering both Party and state institutions is necessary to promote the modernization of Chinas national governance system and ability.

Personal Information Leakage

Peoples Daily March 26

Facebook found itself in hot water as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission publicly confirmed on March 26 that it was investigating the social media giant as a result of the Cambridge Analytica（CA） scandal. CA is a British political-marketing fi rm that illicitly obtained data on up to 50 million Facebook users that it then used to try to infl uence voters during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the UK Brexit vote.

The prevalence of such privacy infringement cases has underlined the importance of online personal information protection， including users age， gender， educational background， relationship status and employment. How should Internet companies strike a balance between proper use of big data and the protection of users personal information and between business ethics and commercial value？ Self-discipline is indispensable but is far from enough.

According to laws and regulations in many countries， companies are required to explain to customers the use of the information they collect and get customers permission. Such practices refl ect concern for consumers core interests， effectively protecting the market order.

The advancement of technologies should not come at the expense of privacy violations. Consumers need more convenient and effi cient technological services but they dont want to expose themselves unprotected to others. Personal information needs more protection online so as to enable Internet users to embrace new services worry-free and to realize the sustainable and safe development of the Internet.

HUAWEIS NEW CHAIRPERSON ELECTED

Liang Hua has been elected chairman of Chinese tech giant Huawei， replacing former Chairwoman Sun Yafang， amid the first board reshuffle since 2012， according to an internal company announcement published on March 23.

Born in 1964， Liang holds a PhD from the Wuhan University of Technology. He joined Huawei in 1995 and has held a number of senior positions including head of supply chain management， CFO， president of the Global Technical Service Department and chairman of the Audit Committee.

Sun， who took the post of chairwoman in 1999， will no longer be a board member but will continue to play an important role in the establishment and improvement of the companys management system， according to the announcement.

Founded in Shenzhen， south China Guangdong Province， in 1984， Huawei has developed into a leading global information and communications technology solutions provider and the third largest smartphone maker in the world.

“The ultimate goal of the website is to contribute to Chinas drive to build a strong army.”

Zhang Youxia， Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission， commenting on the launch of a new website to boost Chinas military modernization on March 26

“All topics are intrinsically related to plans to conduct specific reforms that will improve the lives of ordinary people， while leading to the better functioning of the state as a whole.”

Ivona Ladjevac， a senior researcher at Serbias Institute of International Politics and Economics， commenting on this years sessions of Chinas legislative and political advisory bodies in an interview with Xinhua News Agency

“Although some older users face certain problems when using the Internet， as individuals they should be actively involved in the Internets development by enhancing their ability and getting outside help.”

Zhu Di， a research fellow at the Institute of Sociology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， in response to a recent report that said a large proportion of middle-aged and elderly Chinese netizens have benefited greatly from the Internet

“Africa should draw inspiration from Chinas developmental milestones in order to be one of the major contributors to world science.”

Neil Turok， founder of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences， at the opening of the Next Einstein Forum Global Gathering 2018 in Kigali， Rwanda， on March 26