CHINESE JUDGE REELECTED TO TOP UN COURT

CHINESE JUDGE REELECTED TO TOP UN COURT

Xue Hanqin， Vice President of the International Court of Justice （ICJ）， has been reelected to the top UN judicial panel. The newly elected ICJ judges will serve for nine years， beginning on February 6 next year.

Xue was first elected to the ICJ in June 2010 and reelected in November 2011. She has been vice president of the 15-member court since February 2018. She is the first woman from China to serve on the bench， and the first female vice president of the court.

The ICJ， which is based in The Hague， the Netherlands， and began its operations in 1946， is the UNs principal judicial organ. The courts role is to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to by UN bodies such as the General Assembly and the Security Council.

Green Credit Incentive

Beijing Youth Daily November 11

People in Shiqifang Village in Zhejiang Province， east China， have recently witnessed a unique mechanism to promote garbage sorting. They have been given a green deposit book each that records credits if they do well in sorting their garbage. The accumulated credits can be used to buy daily necessities and food， such as soap and rice， or services， including gym hours， medical services and health examinations.

Deepening industrialization and marketization generate more garbage today and farmers can buy more with greater convenience. However， many lack understanding of garbage sorting and its importance， making it more difficult to implement garbage sorting in rural areas than in cities. Therefore， an incentive mechanism helps to form good habits. The green deposit books encourage people to participate in environmental protection and ensure they benefit from it.

Villagers with limited education have to undergo a series of changes in their understanding of garbage sorting， from shock and rejection to acceptance and making it a habit. As a new policy， garbage sorting reduces costs and enhances peoples benefits if they follow the rules. Also， it is helpful in adopting advanced technologies to make waste sorting convenient and easy.

New Mobile Phone Virus

China Youth Daily November 13

During the Double 11 shopping festival on November 11， many people were bombarded with marketing messages introducing products and discount campaigns. Some unsubscribed from those advertisers but spam messages continued to disturb their lives every day.

Before messaging apps like WeChat became popular， text messaging used to be a major way to connect with friends and family. Although we received a few advertisements from time to time， the inboxes were not dominated by marketing messages.

In response to the proliferation of marketing messages during the shopping festival， Beijing Evening News， Southern Metropolis Daily and other media conducted a survey. Some consumers said though they had unsubscribed from those pestering companies， they were still bothered by over 10 unwanted massages every day.

Also， some companies sent them five or more similar advertisements in succession under the names of different ecommerce platforms. Marketing texts have become a torment for consumers， who are asking the authorities to pay attention to this issue with effective regulations on advertising messages.

The Law of the Peoples Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests says operators should not call consumers for marketing purposes or send commercial messages to their emails without their consent. However， in practice， we rarely see vendors asking for peoples permission.

On the contrary， operators take advantage of the disclosure of personal data to make illegal profit. Telecom service providers and market regulators should take countermeasures to standardize marketing actions and ensure advertising messages do not violate peoples privacy. The authorities should punish the companies that violate rules to protect the legitimate rights and interests of mobile phone users.

Linking Markets， Bridging Gaps

Peoples Daily November 12

For revitalizing rural areas， it is vital to improve the urban and rural labor markets and bridge the gaps between them.

When the urban and rural labor markets are closely connected， it not only broadens ways for villagers to increase their income but also improves resource allocation in cities and the countryside. With a combined market providing employment information， the surplus rural labor can shift from agricultural activities to cities service industries. That can increase both their incomes and consumption. The improvement will be a fundamental force during urban-rural integration.

Also， in this way， rural laborers can understand the market competition and enhance their ability to adapt to the situation.

At the same time， local governments should design an incentive mechanism for people returning to villages and starting their own businesses. With entrepreneurship subsidies and infrastructural support， college graduates， migrant workers， veterans， and other cities talents can contribute to rural innovation and create more jobs.

An improved support system including training， professional title appraisal and social security will guarantee an integrated urban-rural market. Governments at all levels should launch projects to nurture new farmers， who are modern agricultural practitioners working in the sector with complementary professional skills.

TABLE TENNIS STAR CREATES RECORD

Fan Zhendong became the first winner of three straight World Cup titles after he was crowned at the International Table Tennis Federation （ITTF）s World Cup finals in Weihai， Shandong Province in east China， on November 15.

The 23-year-old world No.1 overcame fellow Chinese star， Ma Long， the No.2 seed. He won four rounds in a thrilling seven-game final to clinch his third consecutive World Cup title and fourth altogether. He is the second player to win four World Cup titles in the 40-year history of the event， tying with table tennis legend Ma Lin.

“It feels so good to win a championship. I cherish this one even more as it comes from a very tough match，” Fan said.

After joining the Chinese national table tennis team in 2012 as its youngest member， Fan became the youngest ITTF World Tour Champion and the youngest World Table Tennis Champion.

“The role of China and the United States in global affairs will depend on cooperation rather than conflict. Both stand to lose as will the rest of the world if the China-U.S. conflicts and differences intensify.”

Chandran Nair， the founder and CEO of The Global Institute for Tomorrow， in an article in China Daily on November 19

“BRICS should commit to improving global health systems and assisting the World Health Organization to fight the [COVID-19] pandemic. The production and distribution of vaccines being developed by China and Russia can play a key role in that push.”

Mauricio Santoro， a professor on international relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro， in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on November 19

“Some European and American countries have hyped that countries should not rely on external supplies for the sake of national security. The G20 has noticed such a trend. Its contribution proves the importance of multilateralism and can help stabilize the global situation.”

Su Xiaohui， a researcher with China Institute of International Studies in an article in Global Times on November 18

“Its absolutely essential that the U.S. and China， which are the two largest carbon emitters in the world， work together. Without that cooperation， were just not going to reach our global climate goals.”

Barbara Finamore， Senior Strategic Director for Asia at the Natural Resources Defense Council， in an interview with CGTN on November 19