PROMINENT AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR DIES AT 100

PROMINENT AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR DIES AT 100

Ren Rongrong， a celebrated publisher， writer and award-winning translator， died in Shanghai aged 100 on September 22.

Ren was born in the city on May 19， 1923. He worked in some of Chinas most famous publishing houses and served as deputy chief editor of Shanghai Translation Publishing House.

An expert translator of English， Italian， Russian and Japanese， Ren spent 80 years translating childrens books and introducing classical works like The Complete Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen， Pinocchio and Pippi Longstocking to Chinese audiences. He translated more than 80 works of nearly 40 famous writers.

Ren himself wrote Dopey and Grumpy， a bedtime story about the adventures of two kids. Written in 1956， the story was later adapted into an eponymous cartoon that received widespread acclaim.

Active Attitude Toward Aging

Workers Daily September 26

By 2021， those aged 65 and above in China had reached roughly 200 million， making up 14.2 percent of the population. While an aging population is posing challenges， the elderly still have much to offer.

By 2035， more than 55 percent of the senior population will be aged between 60 and 69 and there is still great potential to be tapped within this age group.

Research has revealed that people in this age group still retain 80-90 percent of their peak IQ， and that some of them may even peak during this period. Particularly， of Chinas more than 5 million retired scientists， 70 percent are aged between 60 and 70， and approximately 70 percent of these possess middle and high-level technical titles and are also still healthy enough to play a role in scientific research. These senior intellectuals still have a lot of value to contribute to society.

Some may hold that people entering their twilight years need extra care from their families and society， but the fact is a more positive attitude toward them will easily uncover enormous strengths among them.

Breakthrough in Breeding

China Newsweek September 19

The transgenic technologies developed since the 1980s have proven to be game changing in the area of seed breeding and are now among the fastest-growing and most influential modern biological technologies in the world.

Since 2008， China has been increasing the amount of research in this area. While China has developed a relatively advanced transgenic breeding system， the industrialization and commercialization of the technology are still underdeveloped.

It is widely agreed within the industry that countries with highly developed transgenic breeding systems have combined biotechnology， artificial intelligence and big data information technology into their programs. China is yet to achieve this level of technological integration and innovative technologies are still rare in Chinas agricultural biotechnology sector， with many of them learned from overseas.

Ensuring food security is the primary goal of transgenic plant breeding. To realize high and stable yields， new crop strains must be developed with properties like disease and stress resistance. Yields are always the most important factor in the seed industry and there is still much room for China to increase the yields of its staple food crops. Breeders must think and act ahead of consumer demand and should not wait until the market is hungry for a certain crop strain.

The Business of Tourism

Guangzhou Daily September 23

In the lead-up to the National Day Holiday， which began on October 1， some scenic spots have been cutting their prices. This new trend of gradually reducing reliance on ticket revenue is gaining momentum and， in some places offering free entry overall revenue has continued to rise. At West Lake in Hangzhou， capital of Zhejiang Province， reduced ticket prices have led to a surge of tourists in the city and even nearby counties.

Free entry is a big draw card for tourists， but its doubtful it can stimulate local tourism if supporting facilities and local services are unsatisfactory. Free entry itself will not necessarily bring greater overall tourism benefits and scenic spots still need to make careful calculations about how to manage venues offering free entry.

EX-JUSTICE MINISTER JAILED FOR BRIBERY

Former senior official Fu Zhenghua on September 20 was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting over 117 million yuan （$16.76 million） in gifts and money for personal gain.

The Intermediate Peoples Court of Changchun in Jilin Province established that Fu， former deputy head of the Committee on Social and Legal Affairs of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference， had abused his power in the various positions he held between 2005 and 2021.

Fus jailing followed the sentencing of three former provincial-level police chiefs. All were allegedly associated with former Vice Minister of Public Security Sun Lijun. Sun was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on September 23 for taking bribes， manipulating the stock market and illegally possessing firearms.

After the expiration of the two-year reprieve， the sentences of both Sun and Fu will be commuted to life imprisonment， with no possibility of further commutation or parole， according to court rulings.

“Together we must create a truly peaceful and just environment for minorities to survive and thrive.”

Zhang Jun， Chinas permanent representative to the UN， at a high-level meeting to mark the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic， Religious and Linguistic Minorities， on September 21

“Our top priority continues to be getting vaccines into arms.”

António Guterres， UN Secretary General， at a high-level event on ending the pandemic on September 23

“We need an international financial system based on inclusion， which inspires full commitment to multilateralism， sustainability and social stability.”

Csaba Korosi， President of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly， at the 46th Annual Meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Group of 77 and China on September 23

“Be it ‘weapons of mass destructionin Iraq… or ‘genocide in Xinjiang， they have all become hallmarks of the U.S.failing credibility.”

Wang Wenbin， spokesperson for Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs， at a daily press conference on September 26