NEW SCI-TECH LEADER APPOINTED

Wang Xi， former Director of the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology （SIMIT）， Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS）， was appointed vice minister of Science and Technology， according to the State Council， Chinas cabinet， in an announcement on May 14.

Wang has devoted his work to semiconductor material science. He was part of the Hundred-Talent Program initiated by the CAS in 1984 to attract and cultivate talent. He was also awarded the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars.

Born in 1966 in Shanghai， Wang received his bachelors degree from Tsinghua University in 1987 and later got his masters and doctoral degrees in 1990 and 1993， respectively， from the SIMIT， formerly known as the Shanghai Institute of Metallurgy. He started his work in 1993 and was selected as an academician of CAS in 2009.

Online Piracy Crackdown

Peoples Daily May 13

Along with booming online literature in recent years， copyright infringements have also grown， with statistics showing that online literature has lost 5.83 billion yuan （$847 million）. Although the campaign against copyright infringement has slowed down piracy， it remains an arduous task to protect the copyright of online literature and create a healthy Internet ecology.

Compared to video and audio products， online literature requires a very small storage space and very little server and bandwidth space， creating extra diffi culties for copyright supervision and protection. Meanwhile， the popularity of mobile reading apps makes crackdown harder.

An effective way to fight against infringement and piracy would be combining administrative， judicial and social efforts. The copyright protection system needs to be improved to serve the campaign to crack down on infringement and piracy. As online literature becomes one of the major sources of cultural and entertainment industries， losses caused by infringement and piracy have also greatly increased. Punishment needs to be strengthened to further deter criminals.

Innovation should be encouraged with institutional guarantees， so as to promote the creation and production of excellent Internet works including literature. The copyright governance model should be upgraded and a collaborative mechanism created. In addition， the sharing of copyright information and more transparent trading platforms should be advocated to better motivate creativity.

Banking on Fintech

China Financial Weekly April 15

Chinas Internet finance industry has expanded rapidly in recent years with the mushrooming of financial technology （fintech）. It has changed the pathdependence of traditional financial services and attracted more offl ine users to mobile terminals. Internet giants， with their advanced technologies and huge traffi c， pose as competitors of traditional fi nancial institutions， especially banks， in the fi eld of fi ntech.

Facing internal and external changes， traditional financial institutions are accelerating their push into the Internet finance sector， with some even upgrading their fintech development to a strategic level. To date， many banks such as China Merchants Bank， China Construction Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China have established fi ntech subsidiaries.

These sections are based on the expansion and transformation of certain departments in the original commercial banking system.

Emerging as licensed financial institutions， Internet-based banks maintain continuous expansion momentum in the financial sector while representing new banking forces. They are also plotting their business layout with f intech as the core competence. The information technology， big data and the ecology created by Internet-based banks are deconstructing traditional business models， offering experiences for the transformation of banks in the fi ntech fi eld.

But whether the fintech subsidiary model can develop smoothly remains uncertain because traditional banks may not have enough faith in its strategic positioning. Though Chinas banking industry has shown its willingness to increase investment in fi ntech and digital business， efforts are still insuffi cient.

Regulation on Reviewers

Beijing Youth Daily May 13

The State Administration for Market Regulation is collecting public opinions on a draft regulation regarding e-commerce， according to which online merchants will be prohibited from deleting any negative reviews from their customers， in order to develop a more transparent online assessment system.

The evaluation system enables the quantifi cation of e-commerce integrity， which is a heavyweight innovation for the development of e-commerce. Consumers frequently evaluate the products or services they purchase by posting online reviews. While businesses are happy to receive praises， they also get worried of bad infl uences caused by less favorable assessments. In this case， some people have seized this opportunity and have become professional negative reviewers to extort money from merchants.

The practice of professional negative reviewers increases the operating costs of online businesses， endangers the spirit of Internet universality， and in the end， adds more costs to consumers.

But the phenomenon of professional positive reviewers is even more widespread and serious. Both negative and positive reviewers are jeopardizing the Internet ecology and customers confi -dence in online trading.

When problems occur in the e-commerce ecology， they distort the evaluation system. Thus， supervision should be strengthened synchronously over professional positive and negative reviewers to maintain consumer confi dence in the online assessment system.

CHINESE FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE

Li Hong， Vice President of the Fujian Provincial Hospital in southeast China and a fellow with the American Academy of Nursing， recently received the Florence Nightingale Medal of 2019， which recognizes exceptional courage and devotion to victims of armed confl ict or natural disasters.

Li， has special training in disaster relief， public health and nursing education and is the only Chinese recipient of the award this year among 29 nurses from 19 countries. The award recognizes exemplary service or a pioneering spirit in the areas of public health or nursing education.

People are nominated by their respective national Red Cross or Red Crescent societies. The winners are selected by a commission made up of members of the International Committee of the Red Cross， the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International Council of Nurses.

“It is simply absurd and utterly unacceptable to look at China-U.S. relations from a clash-of-civilizations or even racist perspective.”

Geng Shuang， Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson， at a news briefi ng on May 13

“This technology solves the main shortcomings of the traditional artemisinin production process and could also provide ideas for the production of other natural products.”

Zhang Suojiang， Director of the Institute of Process Engineering， Chinese Academy of Sciences， commenting on a newly developed technology to produce the top malaria treatment artemisinin on a large scale

“Teachers are important for the expansion of enrollment and efforts to increase the number of teachers include training， cooperation with enterprises and hiring retired teachers.”

Wang Jiping， Director of the Department of Vocational and Adult Education， Ministry of Education， commenting on May 8 on Chinas centralized support to build a team of vocational college teachers

“In recent years， Chinese ports have grown very rapidly. For young ports like the Port of Acu in Brazil， Chinese ports have already become a benchmark in the areas of port infrastructure， logistics and management.”

Tessa Major， Vice President of the Port of Acu， commenting on the sister port relationship established with Guangzhou Port of south Chinas Guangdong Province on May 8