CHINESE REFEREES TO OFFICIATE AT QATAR WORLD CUP

Chinese referee Ma Ning and two assistant referees， Cao Yi and Shi Xiang， have been recently appointed for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Born in 1979 in Fuxin， Liaoning Province， Ma graduated with a master’s degree in football from Beijing Sports University. Since 2009， he has become a referee for major events such as the Chinese Football Association Super League and AFC Asian Cup.

Ma will be the second Chinese referee to officiate at the world’s most prestigious football tournament.

The 22nd FIFA World Cup is set to take place from November 21 to December 18 at eight stadiums in Qatar. The world football governing body has named 36 referees， 69 assistant referees and 24 video match officials for its flagship national team competition. Additionally， and for the first time in the men’s World Cup history， six female match officials have been appointed.

People’s Daily May 25

Rural retail sales and per-capita consumer spending remain on the up. The consumption of durable goods like cars， electrical appliances， digital products and even cosmetics， is steadily rising.

China has over 2，800 county-level administrative areas. With the continuous upgrading of infrastructure， consumers in towns can also easily purchase goods of the same quality as those sold in bigger cities. Meanwhile， rising incomes also make it possible for them to make big purchases like cars.

But even to this day， obstacles like underdeveloped commercial facilities and a limited variety of commodities and services are curbing consumption in rural areas. Especially in China’s most remote areas， the “last kilometer” remains a big hurdle in express delivery： Customers prefer couriers to deliver and pick up parcels at their doors， but couriers， who handle a large number of parcels in the vast areas every day， simply cannot make it to the customer’s doorstep. Another issue is that some county and town markets are inundated with low-quality products sold at relatively high prices. All these factors have put a dent in consumer confidence.

To fully tap into the vast rural market， towns and counties still have many kilometers to go.

Guangzhou Daily May 26

Amid pandemic resurgences across China， a growing number of companies are allowing their staff to work from home. Is this just a practicality or is it a would-be regular model？ Even without COVID-19， over 90 percent of employees still hope they can work from home at least one day a week.

This new model has its merits. Companies can scale down on office space and cut operating costs， while employees don’t have to commute， which in turn helps ease traffic strains and save energy. Behind these visible merits， lies the people’s eagerness for the right to strike a balance between work and life.

Many companies have adopted this flexible model in recent years， not just because of pandemic disruptions， but because the Internet technologies supporting this model are rapidly evolving.

But even these companies allowing staff to work from home still demand their employees send in regular screenshots to prove they’re not just sitting around at home. This isn’t a baseless request， as some employees do loaf around when there is no monitoring system in place.

It’s a two-way street. Companies that feel like continuing this work-from-home concept need to upgrade their overall procedures so that they won’t have to worry about employee “dishonesty.”

Employees， on their part， must respect， and not abuse， their company’s leniency in the matter.

China Youth Daily May 25

Many counties in several of China’s southern provinces have recently seen their graduates rushing to apply for lower-level government positions.

On the one hand， this shows just how the overall education level is rising thanks to the popularization of higher education among younger generations. On the other， it implies fierce competition in the job market. Landing a stable job in the government system， even at its most basic level， seems the best way to go.

At the same time， the arrival of these fresh graduates in county-level cities bears good news for these small towns， as it will push up the overall efficiency levels of civil servant teams and improve governing capacity.

Currently， apart from a small number of county towns adjacent to metropolises， most such towns are underperforming， suffering from both a resident exodus and a shrinking economy. When funds are limited， they tend to focus on bringing in teachers and doctors， who are more urgently needed than lower-level officials.

Yu Luming was removed from his position as director of the Beijing Health Commission， the Standing Committee of the 15th Beijing Municipal People’s Congress announced on May 25.

That same day， the 13th Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference’s Standing Committee decided to remove Yu from the post of committee vice chairperson and revoke his membership， due to violations of Party discipline as well as the law of the state.

Born in 1961， Yu is a psychiatrist. From 1983 onward， he served in multiple positions， such as deputy mayor of Daxing District of Beijing and head of the Beijing Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau.

Yu came under investigation by the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision in April.

“On issues that bear on China’s sovereignty， territorial integrity and other core interests， no one shall expect China to make any compromises or trade-offs.”

Wang Wenbin， spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs， at a daily press briefing on May 23

“At present， the widening technology divide between developed and developing countries， the digital divide in particular， is exacerbating a new layer of inequality.”

Zhang Jun， China’s permanent representative to the UN， at a UN Security Council briefing on technology and security on May 23

“COVID-19 vaccines from China are used in many developing countries. China has made very good contributions.”

Shyam Bishen， head of the Platform for Shaping the Future of Health and Healthcare at the World Economic Forum， in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on May 25

“It will increase the vitality of the logistics industry in Frankfurt and bring more business opportunities.”

Kawus Khederzadeh， General Manager of the industrial park in Hoechst Frankfurt ， referring to the China-Europe freight train in a recent interview with Xinhua