NEW CPAFFC PRESIDENT

NEW CPAFFC PRESIDENT

Lin Songtian， former Chinese Ambassador to South Africa， is now president of the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries （CPAFFC）， a position he assumed on April 9. The 60-year-old will also preside over the associations executive council as secretary general.

The association is one of the earliest national peoples organizations to enhance people-to-people ties and further international cooperation.

Lin joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1978 and was assigned to South Africa as ambassador in 2017.

He succeeds Li Xiaolin， who served the association for 45 years before retiring. Li said in a letter on the associations website that she had a wonderful experience working for world peace.

Psychological Help

Xinhuanet.com April 8

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 epidemic， providing psychological assistance has become more important in Chinese society as peoples life return to normalcy. The Central Government has released guidelines to help address anxiety and maintain good mental health while local governments are providing psychological counseling， which has seen a good response. However， the services are still far from meeting the growing public need as more people undergo severe trauma.

Identifying the target group is a prerequisite for this work. The group includes novel coronavirus disease patients， their family and frontline workers. Besides the physical distress， many suffer from the mental pressure caused by the disease.

The authorities should assess their mental health and provide prompt help. Also， people in the severely affected regions， such as Wuhan in Hubei Province， central China， should be the focus of the assistance， which will help prevent the stigmatization arising from the disease.

According to a work plan on psychological counseling issued by the State Council on March 19， experts participating in the services should give more help to those with anxiety and depression， insomnia and posttraumatic stress disorder.

From a long-term perspective， psychological assistance has become an essential issue in social governance. It is necessary to build a comprehensive system with professional services to address peoples mental problems and ensure stable social development.

Food for Thought

Beijing Youth Daily April 10

According to a report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on March 29， the protracted novel coronavirus pandemic could put a strain on food supply chains and threaten the food security of some countries and regions.

Panic behavior has been noticed among some domestic consumers. Worried about an increase in grain prices， they have begun stockpiling food and other daily necessities.

However， thanks to 16 consecutive years of bountiful harvests， China has abundant grain reserves to ensure grain safety and tide over a possible global food crisis， according to Wang Liaowei， a senior economist at the China National Grain and Oils Information Center.

Wang told China Economic Net that during the global food crisis in 2008， shortages hit over 30 countries. However， despite grain prices experiencing fluctuations on the international market this time， the Chinese market has remained stable， showing the capability to cope with problems.

But a suff icient supply does not mean that people can continue to waste food， a widespread problem in China. According to a report by China Agricultural University， from 2007 to 2008， 8 million tons of proteins in food were wasted in China， equivalent to the annual needs of 260 million people.

Many activities are being organized to strengthen awareness of conserving food， like the Clean Plate campaign， which teaches not to waste any food put on the dining table. The individual dining system instead of group dining promoted during the epidemic is also playing a positive role in preventing food wastage. It means ordering food according to individual demand and is a practice that should be retained.

Both the catering industry and consumers should work together to change the lifestyle of excessive consumption， which results in leftovers that go to waste. Local governments can implement a mechanism for rewarding people who take away leftovers to consume them later. It will help cultivate the good habit of utilizing all food.

Medical Waste Disposal

Peoples Daily April 13

The work for prevention and control of the epidemic has put massive pressure on handling medical waste. As of April 4， Chinas medical waste disposal capacity had reached 6，070 tons per day， up 23.9 percent from 4，902.8 tons per day before the outbreak， according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment （MEE）.

Disposing medical waste correctly is important for containing the disease and consolidating the progress made so far because used materials could carry the virus and can cause infection unless disposed of in a safe way.

Local governments have adopted various approaches to improve the overloaded disposal system， such as buying more disposal equipment and working with other cities. On March 2， a work plan was issued by 10 authorities， such as MEE， the National Health Commission and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development， to guide local authorities to optimize medical waste and sewage disposal. The plan asks each city to build a mechanism to collect， transfer and handle medical waste and sewage before June 2022. A coordinated mode between cities should be established to share information and increase effi ciency. Related technologies should be used， for example， in waste sorting， information processing， recycling and disposal.

PROVINCIAL GOVERNOR UNDER PROBE

Zhang Zhinan， Vice Governor of Fujian Province in southeast China， is under investigation for suspected violation of discipline and law by the Communist Party of China（CPC） Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. He is also a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee.

The 60-year-old， who was born in Fujian， jointed the CPC in 1979. In 2008， Zhang was promoted to vice governor after working for the provincial government for six years. He was in charge of grain and material reserves， science and technology， fi nance and the ecological environment.

On April 11， he attended a video conference on the construction of major projects and stabilizing investment in Fujian. The next day， the top anti-graft body announced he was being investigated.

“ We started daily briefing to the press in the very early stage of this crisis. And were also sharing…what we have found out about the genome sequence of the virus and everything we learned from our own experience.”

Cui Tiankai， Chinese Ambassador to the U.S.， responding to comments about China concealing COVID-19 cases in an interview on digital broadcast program Gzero World on April 11

“Ensuring most people can get through this difficult period by keeping their jobs with stable salaries is the most important task this year. It is a test of Chinas governance to minimize the influence of the [COVID-19] epidemic on peoples livelihood.”

Hu Xijin， Editor in Chief of Global Times， on news app Toutiao on April 14

“The Chinese Government has been attaching great importance to the life and health of foreign nationals in China. All foreigners are treated equally.”

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian， rejecting allegations of discrimination against Africans in Guangdong Province in south China， on April 13

“One thing [about China] we are looking at closely is the extraordinary work of contact tracing. Thats the kind efforts we need. Its something like a 100-fold increase in the strength of our public health system.”

Dr. Tom Frieden， former Director of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention， in an interview with China Global Television Network on April 13