ALIBABA CHAIRMAN RESIGNS

ALIBABA CHAIRMAN RESIGNS

Jack Ma stepped down as chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. on September 10， one year after he announced plans to hand over the $500-billion business he built to trusted partners.

This happened on the same day as the Internet giant celebrated its 20th anniversary and Ma turned 55.

Ma， a once obscure English language teacher， co-founded Alibaba， which has revolutionized shopping habits， payment channels and leisure entertainment in China， with 17 partners in an apartment in Hangzhou， east Chinas Zhejiang Province.

Alibaba said Ma will remain on the board of directors until 2020 and in the Alibaba Partnership. Previously， Ma said he would devote more time and energy to education and philanthropy upon his resignation as Alibaba chairman.

Taking the helm is 47-year-old Daniel Zhang， who has been acting as CEO since 2015， and is commonly regarded as the man behind what is now the worlds largest online shopping extravaganza on every November 11， also known as Singles Day.

Booming E-Sports

Guangming Daily September 6

E-sports became the buzzword for Shanghai this summer. The city hosted the 2019 Global E-sports Conference and the annual International Dota 2 Championships. As an increasing number of international e-sports competitions and conferences are held in Shanghai， the city is closer to its goal of becoming an e-sports capital in three to five years. Chinas e-sports industry will also embrace unprecedented opportunities for development.

This was the fi rst time the Dota 2 championship， the largest e-sports tournament with a prize pool of over $34.3 million， was held in Asia. Shanghai was able to host the competition because Chinas e-sports industry has reached a large market scale and its industrial chain has become complete.

Statistics show that in the first half of the year， the sales volume of Chinas e-sports market reached 51.32 billion yuan （$7.2 billion）， up 22.8 percent year on year， faster than the growth rate of the video games market. E-sports competitions are involving not only the participation of e-sports fans and practitioners but have also become a popular sports and cultural activity. China has become transformed from a follower to a leader of the global e-sports industry.

However， the new industry still faces many difficulties. For instance， in spite of the steady emergence of new players， technical and management talent are in short supply.

Also， more regulations and industry associations are needed to promote the development of the industry and protect the rights and interests of practitioners.

A Blue Ocean

China Newsweek September 9

The Internet of Things （IoT） was fi rst conceived in 1999. With the IoT， a briefcase can remind its owner if she or he forgets a customary object. This is how the International Telecommunication Union envisioned an era of the IoT in 2005.

China started developing the IoT industry in 2009 and the IoT was listed as an emerging strategic industry. However， 10 years later， no major breakthroughs have been made in the industry and there is no large-scale commercialization either.

There are several factors that have restricted the industrys growth. The IoT technology is highly fragmented. There has been no systematic research and development of the technology in the market. As a result， no enterprise can produce world leading products.

The application of the IoT is also fragmented. There are multiple industries which need IoT applications. However， as their requirement for IoT products is different， its hard for the IoT industry to realize such large-scale production. In addition， the heavy reliance on imports of key equipment such as chips in sensors and middle- and high-end sensors is the biggest hurdle for the commercialization of the IoT.

Nevertheless， with the government issuing 5G licenses for commercial use in June， the IoT industry may embrace new opportunities for growth. Currently， telecommunication companies and leading Internet companies like Alibaba and Tencent have all jumped onto the IoT bandwagon. Industry insiders say there is bound to be a leading IoT company in the next 10 years but it remains to be seen whether the company is a smart hardware provider， an Internet company or a solution provider.

Targeted Help

China Youth Daily September 10

Left-behind children， those whose parents have migrated to big cities in search of better-paid jobs and who are mostly looked after by grandparents in their rural hometowns， have been a subject of attention in recent years. How to help them is a big challenge.

On September 9， online food delivery platform Meituan launched targeted programs in collaboration with the Chinese Red Cross Foundation， China Development Research Foundation （CDRF） and Growing Home， a Beijing-based charity foundation， to help these children. For instance， the Red Cross program will construct schools in rural areas and organize study tours to cities while the CDRF program will fund kindergarten buildings in rural areas.

These programs are a small step to address the severe social issue of left-behind children.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs， there are 6.7 million left-behind children， 96 percent of whom are looked after by their grandparents and the rest by other relatives or family friends. ？

These children， who grow up separated from their parents， often have psychological problems such as lack of self-confi dence. They are also more likely to be bullied or bully others. Therefore what they need is not fi nancial support alone but also psychological counseling.

In recent years， many enterprises have been undertaking charity programs and poverty alleviation. For instance， some Internet companies have helped farmers in impoverished rural areas in west China sell their agricultural products online. Such an approach is also needed in the programs for leftbehind children in order to achieve results.

FUTURE SCIENCE PRIZE WINNER

Wang Xiaoyun， with the Institute for Advanced Study of Tsinghua University， recently won the 2019 Future Science Prize along with three other scientists. The prize is the fi rst Chinese nongovernmental science award initiated by a group of scientists and entrepreneurs in 2016.

Wang won the prize in mathematics and computer science for her contributions to cryptography where she innovated methods to reveal the weaknesses of widely used hash functions and created a new generation of hash function standards.

Wang has been a professor with the institute since 2005 and in 2017， she was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS）.

Shao Feng， a senior researcher from Beijings National Institute of Biological Sciences， was awarded the prize in life sciences. Wang Yifang， Director of the Institute for High-Energy Physics under the CAS， and KamBiu Luk， a professor at University of California， Berkeley， won the prize in physical sciences.

The prize is given in three categories with $1 million for each award.

“Such shared aspirations for unity are the most profound part of our cultural identity that sustains the continuous development of China as a country and as a nation.”

Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai， at a reception celebrating Chinas traditional Mid-Autumn Festival at the Chinese Embassy on September 6

“There will be price inspections at every stage of pork production and distribution. Any misdemeanor， like spreading false price hike rumors， colluding to raise prices or illegally hoard pork for profit， will be punished.”

Chen Zhijiang， deputy chief of price supervision and inspection， the State Administration for Market Regulation， on the measures to address the rising pork prices on September 11

“The poverty level that [China] brought down is quite dramatic and significant. That is incredible for us， for neighboring countries.”

Kyaw Moe Tun， Myanmars Permanent Ambassador to the UN， commenting while visiting the Chinese exhibition Pursuing Happiness for the People at the UN Office at Geneva on September 9

“The important message by President Xi represented a confirmation of the willingness of the Chinese leadership to enhance its ties with the Arab countries and utilize the expo as an important means for boosting bilateral relations.”

Khalid Dirar， a professor of political science at the al-Rasid Center for Strategic Studies in Khartoum， Sudan， commenting on Xi Jinpings congratulatory letter to the fourth China-Arab States Expo