CHINESE ARTIST RECEIVES OLYMPIC HONOR

Lu Junjie， Chinese boccaro master， received the Pierre de Coubertin medal from Thomas Bach， President of the International Olympic Committee （IOC）， at its headquarters in Lausanne， Switzerland， on January 15. Lu is the fi rst boccaro artist to receive such an honor.

Lu was born in a boccaro artist family in Yixing， Jiangsu Province， in 1966. He is dedicated to spreading Chinese culture and the Olympic spirit through his work， which has been recognized by the IOC. A total of 22 works of boccaro ware with the theme of the Olympic Games， including a champion boccaro teapot for the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022， will be exhibited at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne this March.

As national intangible cultural heritage， Chinas boccaro art enjoys great prestige in the world for its unique manual artistry and profound culture. Named after the founder of the modern Olympics， the Pierre de Coubertin medal honors athletes or people who exemplify the spirit of sportsmanship or provide exceptional service to the Games.

Privacy Protection in The Big Data Era

Peoples Daily January 17

News related to personal information breaches has caused public dismay. Recently， Alipay triggered controversy with a feature detailing spending statistics that automatically enrolled users into the companys credit rating service， enabling it to access a wide range of user data.

Most apps require users to register， through which process users personal information is collected. Sometimes， if users dont grant access to their personal information， they cannot use the apps.

According to Chinas regulations on mobile Internet application services， mobile software should provide private information security protection mechanisms to software users， and the collection and use of personal information should abide by laws and have consent from users. Even so， in the age of big data， private information is frequently leaked for various reasons.

The era of big data need not equal a time without personal privacy， and instead， more efforts should be made for the protection of privacy. Recently， the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Cyberspace Administration of China have criticized some companies for their improper extraction of users information.

More mobile apps are expected to be part of peoples daily life and public service networks. Internet companies are not supposed to forget their social responsibilities and legal obligations， as in the end， a company that defies moral codes will be jettisoned by users. Meanwhile， its urgent for Chinas information security and protection measures to catch up with the development of the Internet through the establishment of tougher laws and the enhancement of antileakage technologies. The public should also be more alert to information leaks.endprint

Tax Reform for Water Protection

Oriental Outlook January 11

China has launched a tax on water while abolishing the water fee in some provinces. The 40-year-old water resource fee， levied on companies that directly extract water resources from underground， rivers or lakes， is thus retreating into history.

Chinas fresh water resources account for 6.4 percent of the worlds total， but they support 20 percent of the worlds population. However， fresh water resources are not really cherished around the world.

Economic growth is increasingly straining water resources. In China， 70 percent of its cities are short of water， while 20 percent run serious shortages of water. The annual economic loss stemming from water-related reasons amounts to 300 billion yuan （$46.72 billion）. Thus， to protect and better use water resources is an urgent issue for China.

In 1979， Shanghai began to impose water resource fees， which later spread to the other parts of the country. But the water resource fee is too low to discourage residents and businesses from wasting water. For example， for residents daily use， every cubic meter of water only costs 0.01 yuan.

The reason for this extremely low fee mainly lies in the fact that it is local governments that decide the price of water resources. In order to attract investment， local governments are reluctant to impose high water resource fees. Now， the water resource tax， unlike the fee， is a compulsory practice. Users are required to declare the amount of water they have used and theyll get punished if they are found providing wrong data. The fee-to-tax reform is the key to saving precious water resources.

A Prosperous Performing Market

Guangming Daily January 15

The market of performing art in Beijing maintained stable growth in 2017. According to statistics from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and the Performing Art Association of Beijing， a total of 24，557 shows were held in the city last year， attracting a total audience of 10.76 million and creating a revenue of 1.72 billion yuan （$266.7 million）.

Apart from Beijing， the market for performing arts and entertainment is booming in many Chinese cities. In recent years， a number of Chinese cities have constructed new theaters as landmark buildings and hosted cultural and art events regularly， promoting market prosperity and building up the cities reputation.

However， performing arts remain a small part of the entire cultural market. In 2017， the cartoon and electronic games industries in Beijing created a total value of 62.7 billion yuan（$9.75 billion）， up 20 percent year on year. Pop concerts also attract much more attention， especially from young fans， than do drama and classical music.endprint

Performing arts， such as drama and music， might not generate large box offi ce revenues， but it is important for improving the artistic appreciation of the people and building up a citys cultural atmosphere. Therefore， the government， the public and companies should work together to promote the prosperity of the performing art market.

To reach this goal， cities must have their cultural development strategies， artists must have a sense of mission and local governments must offer sound public cultural services. Today， China is open to all kinds of performing arts， from ballet to hip-hop. But only a prosperous market can enable performing art to secure a solid base among the people.

STUDENT HONORED AS SENIOR CRAFTSMAN

Song Biao， a student of Changzhou Technician College in Jiangsu Province， was honored as “Senior Craftsman of Jiangsu” by the provincial government on January 5. Song was also given a prize of 800，000 yuan （$124，359） at the commendation conference.

The 19-year-old student majoring in machinery won the Albert Vidal Award for the best performance in the industrial mechanic millwright skill during the 44th WorldSkills held in Abu Dhabi in October 2017. This was the first time a Chinese student won the top award at WorldSkills. China led the medal table with 15 gold medals， 7 silvers and 8 bronzes.

China attaches great importance to cultivating skilled workers， which are regarded as a key to improving Chinas industrial quality and products reputation. At present， Jiangsu Province embraces 3.58 million highly skilled talents， the largest number among all provinces and regions in China.

“The research can contribute to a better understanding of regional variations in response to climate change and support marine ecological protection in Myanmars waters.”

Qiu Yun， chief scientist aboard the Xiang Yang Hong 03， speaking about joint oceanographic research with Myanmar in Myanmars Thilawa Port on January 17

“We want to encourage Chinese people to claim records， and we are looking forward to witnessing more and more China Prides.”

Alistair Richards， President of Guinness World Records， expressing his hope for more record claims from China， in a recent interview with Xinhua News Agency

“With a huge market， strong capital and production capabilities， China will become the perfect partner for tech-savvy Israel.”

Nadav Cohen， Consul General of Israel in Guangzhou， speaking about the establishment of an incubation center in Xiamen， Fujian Province， on January 17

“The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank （AIIB） is not Chinas bank， but a multilateral development institution operating by international standards.”

Jin Liqun， AIIB President， speaking at a fi nancial forum in Hong Kong on January 17endprint