LEAD RESEARCHER ON STEM CELLS

Scientists from the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health of the Chinese Academy of Sciences， led by researcher Pei Duanqing， made a breakthrough in creating stem cells with a cocktail of two chemicals that can induce mature somatic cells to turn back into pluripotent stem cells.

The study， which was recently published in Cell Stem Cell， will help to understand the fate of cells and could be applied to regenerative medicine， according to Pei.

Born in Gongan County of central Chinas Hubei Province， Pei graduated from Huazhong Agricultural University in 1984. He received a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991 and did postdoctoral studies at the University of Michigan before becoming a faculty member at the School of Medicine of the University of Minnesota in 1996. He joined the medical faculty of Tsinghua University in Beijing in 2002 and became director of the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health in 2009.

Furor Over Auction of Lost Treasure

Beijing Youth Daily April 13

In spite of strong opposition and condemnation from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage （SACH）， a bronze vessel from the Western Zhou Dynasty， looted from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing， was sold for 410，000 pounds （$582，000） at the Canterbury Auction Galleries in the UK on April 11. The 3，000-year-old piece， known as the Tiger Ying， is a bronze water container with tiger-shaped decorations and carved inscriptions.

The SACH， Chinas national cultural relics watchdog， contacted the auction house beforehand， insisting that it withdraw the artifact from the auction. However， the auction house refused， citing protection under UK law.

The auction house also made public a letter written by Royal Marines Captain Harry Lewis Evans where he described how he took the vessel from the Old Summer Palace in 1860 when it was sacked and destroyed by British and French troops at the end of the Second Opium War. The ransacking shows Western invadersreckless destruction of the history of human civilization.

It is the moral obligation of the international community to respect their own and other countries cultural heritage and to promote the return of illicitly taken artifacts to their home countries. According to statistics from the China Cultural Relics Academy， over 10 million Chinese cultural artifacts have been taken overseas through wars or illegal trade. The Chinese Government has successfully recovered some lost treasures using legal and diplomatic means under the framework of international conventions.

Central Banking Duo

China Newsweek April 16

In the latest round of state institutional reform， the China Banking Regulatory Commission merged with the China Insurance Regulatory Commission to form the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission （CBIRC）.

The functions of the former top banking and insurance regulators of formulating important laws and regulations for the banking and insurance sectors were transferred to the Peoples Bank of China， Chinas central bank.

Guo Shuqing， former Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission， was named chairman of the CBIRC and vice governor of the central bank， while former Vice Governor Yi Gang was appointed governor of the central bank.

Experts say Guo will focus on financial regulation at provincial and lower levels of the government and supervision of fi nancial products. Yi， for his part， will concentrate on monetary policies and international exchanges.

Yi pushed forward the transformation of Chinas monetary policy from administrative- to market-based and Guo launched a series of reform policies while he was chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission， governor of Shandong Province and chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

Their top priorities will be to promote the reform and opening up of Chinas financial industry， prevent and dissolve systemic fi nancial risks， and maintain the stability of the industry.

Medical Malpractice Insurance

Guangming Daily April 16

Medical malpractice insurance was recently launched in Shenzhen， south Chinas Guangdong Province， allowing a doctor to pay a premium of no more than 3，000 yuan （$478） a year on a voluntary basis and receive a compensation of as much as 4 million yuan （$637，000） once medical accidents occur.

The risks of medical accidents may be no lower than traffic accidents， but victims of traffi c accidents are covered by car insurance， while protection for victims of medical accidents is lacking. This can lead to strained relations and frequent disputes between patients and doctors. Medical malpractice insurance is an international practice which can serve to solve disputes between the two parties.

Beijing has also promoted a similar insurance scheme in its hospitals since 2005. However， compared with Shenzhen， which requires individual doctor subscription， the premium in Beijing is paid by the entire hospital. Once an accident happens， patients reach a compensation agreement with the hospital through mediation by third-party insurance companies.

Medical malpractice insurance serves as an ample source of compensation for patients who suffer medical accidents. Some worry， however， that it may downplay the responsibilities of doctors and medical institutions. In this respect， Shenzhens practice is a step forward because doctors who subscribe to the insurance as individuals will have their reputation tarnished if they are repaid more frequently than others.

HONG KONG DIRECTOR WINS AWARD

Hong Kong director Ann Hui won the Best Director Award for her World War II fi lm， Our Time Will Come， at the 37th Hong Kong Film Awards on April 15. Its the sixth time the director has won the prize. The fi lm chronicles the evacuation of Chinese intellectuals from Japanese-occupied Hong Kong in 1940.

Born in 1947 in Anshan， Liaoning Province， to a Chinese father and a Japanese mother， Hui moved to Hong Kong at the age of 5. She received a masters degree in English and comparative literature at the University of Hong Kong in 1972 and studied at the London Film School before returning to Hong Kong in 1975.

As one of the most critically acclaimed fi lmmakers in Hong Kong， Hui has won numerous awards for her fi lms， including the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2012 Asian Film Awards.

“Cooperation between the U.S. and China is critical to meeting all of the challenges facing our world， from economic growth and trade to security and climate change.”

Michael R. Bloomberg， founder of Bloomberg L.P.， at the 2018 International Finance and Infrastructure Cooperation Forum in New York City， on April 18

“China still has room to improve in terms of helping foreign experts settle in. But it is great to see China on the path of incrementally improving services for foreigners.”

Peter Lobie， a medical professor at Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute， at a conference on the international exchange of professionals in Shenzhen on April 14

“We gave Encounter the top award not only because of its unflinching portrayal of the reality of the refugee crisis in Europe， but also for its ruminations on the difficulties of human communication.”

Nie Zhenning， head of the general judging panel of the 21st Century Best Foreign Novel of the Year 2017， commenting on the German novel that won the award on April 13

“It makes sense that we export our wine when the worlds largest market is right on our doorstep.”

Anne Ruston， Australias Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources， in response to recent statistics showing that the countrys wine exports to China rose 51 percent to some $808 million in the 12 months leading up to March