NEW PRESIDENT FOR TOP ENGINEERING ACADEMY

Li Xiaohong， a mining engineering expert， was elected President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering （CAE） on June 1.

Established in 1994， the CAE offers consultancy services to the state on major programs， planning， guidelines and policies as Chinas top engineering academy.

Li， 59， served as President of Chongqing University from 2003 to 2010 and was appointed president of Wuhan University in 2010. In 2011， Li was elected as a CAE academician， the highest academic title in engineering science and technology in China.

Lis main interest lies in water jet technology and mining engineering， on which he is one of the leaders in these fi elds. His research contributed to addressing the major safety problems of complex coal mines which are at serious risk of mine gas disasters.

Li is focusing on the use of supercritical carbon dioxide fluid to assist in shale gas exploration and production. The ultimate goal of his study is to develop a theoretical system and technology for high-efficiency shale gas exploitation.

Promotional Films for Cities

Workers Daily June 5

A new promotional video for Zhengzhou， capital of central Chinas Henan Province， has recently caused uproar online for including footage of a park in Kaifeng， a different city in the province.

The number of fi lms seeking to promote Chinese cities has experienced a sharp increase in recent years. Almost every city has its promotional film， with some cities even producing more than one a year. The genre has become a vanity project for some cities.

The films are often produced by bigname advertising companies and lack distinctive characteristics， all similar to one another. Smiling faces， grand new architec- ture， historical sites， children running in the sun， elderly citizens practicing Taichi in parks， all are typical scenes in these videos.

But only those passionate about a place can make a film which truly reflects the citys character. While this may be diffi cult to achieve， a citys promotional film should at the very least present the city authentically.

Those promotional videos which strike a chord with the audience are not necessarily bigbudget productions by large companies. For instance， the eight-minute advertising video for the G20 Summit in 2016 in Hangzhou， capital of east Chinas Zhejiang Province， was made by a couple who spent five years taking over 90，000 photos of the city for the video. In the end， 18，000 photos were included in the video.

Its time to cool down the enthusiasm for the production of city films. Not every city needs a film and no city needs multiple films every year. Ultimately， fi lms lacking in local characteristics and creative ideas will fail to project a citys image.

Internet Celebrity Faces

China Newsweek June 4

Internet celebrity faces， characterized by big eyes， double eyelids， white skin， a high nose bridge and a pointed chin， have become a regular sight on online platforms such as live streaming websites.

The popularity of this aesthetic reached its peak in 2015 and 2016 when webcasting platforms experienced explosive growth. Many underwent expensive surgery at illegal private hospitals to achieve this look， with inevitable complications meaning that people ended up at more professional hospitals to repair their appearance.

The pursuit of double eyelids and a high nose bridge occurred in Japan around 30 years ago. At that time， the appearance of Hollywood stars was popular in Japan， with the phenomenon lasting for almost 10 years. But people later became more rational and only made small changes which they believed made themselves look better， but less detectable by others.

The current fervor for Internet celebrity faces indicates that Chinas cosmetic surgery industry is still in a nascent stage of development. Patients view of beauty is immature and many practitioners of the industry are in pursuit of profi ts regardless of moral standards.

The ideal situation should be improving customers self-confi dence through plastic surgery by focusing on their shortcomings with doctors charging a reasonable price for the procedure.

More Space for Exercise

Guangming Daily June 5

The per-capita area of sports fields is only 1.57 square meters in China， a far cry from 16 square meters in the United States and 19 square meters in Japan. According to the Ministry of Finance， 930 million yuan （$145 million） has been earmarked to subsidize the opening of large stadiums to the public for free or at a low price.

At present， peoples enthusiasm for sports is running high， with a recent case of 40 marathons held across the country on one day.

It is urgent to provide adequate space for people to exercise. If someone has to take three subway lines and cycle half an hour to play badminton or basketball， exercise is unlikely to become part of their daily life. Similarly， if the square dancers who generate outcry for disturbing others have a proper venue for exercise， then their activities will not affect other residents.

To date the Central Governments subsidies have gone to large stadiums located far from residential compounds. While smaller stadiums closer to peoples homes have received little attention.

The good news is that the General Administration of Sport in China announced in April that it will no longer distribute subsidies according to the number of seats in a stadium but by the amount of people it receives and the number of sports events and training it hosts. Hopefully this will be the starting point for solving the shortage of exercise space in China.

FORMER RETAIL TYCOON ACQUITTED

Zhang Wenzhong， 55， founder and former Chairman of Wumei Holdings， the parent company of retail chain Wumart Stores， was acquitted from fraud， bribery and embezzlement charges on May 31 after a retrial by the Supreme Peoples Court （SPC）.

The SPC made the ruling that the original sentence was based on insufficient evidence and the laws applied were improper.

In 1994， Zhang established the first Wumart store in Beijing. In November 2003， Wumart was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and quickly expanded its retail empire through acquisitions and mergers.

Zhang was subsequently sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined 500，000 yuan （$78，000） for previous charges in 2009 in a final ruling by the Hebei Higher Peoples Court in north Chinas Hebei Province， on a charge of illegally gaining huge amounts of supporting capital from the government.

He petitioned the SPC in October 2016 and the SPC decided to retry the case in December 2017.

“Strengthening economic and trade ties between China and other Shanghai Cooperation Organization （SCO） members is set to bring more business opportunities to Tsingtao Brewery and the city.”

Chu Liangjing， Vice President of Tsingtao Brewerys overseas sales department， in a recent interview with Xinhua News Agency. The Tsingtao Brewery is the most iconic business in Qingdao， the host city of the SCO Summit in east Chinas Shandong Province

“As the UN member state with the biggest population， China can take on a leadership role by implementing domestic policies that address plastic pollution upstream.”

Heidi Savelli Soderberg， a program officer with the UN Environment Programme， on World Environment Day on June 5

“The Belt and Road Initiative offers a framework for intergovernmental cooperation， which will help remove the largest barrier—the legal barrier—in traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） qualification， TCM education accreditation， drug access and medical insurance.”

Ma Liangxiao， a doctoral supervisor for foreign students learning acupuncture at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine， in a recent interview with China Daily

“China will devote more resources to producing high-value and influential brands and patents and participating in the global governance of intellectual property to help it become more inclusive， balanced and efficient.”

Shen Changyu， head of the State Intellectual Property Office， on June 5