SCHOLAR WINS PRESTIGIOUS SCIENCE AWARD

Lu Ke， a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS）， has been honored with this year’s Institute of Metals/Robert Franklin Mehl Award for his research in nano-metal materials， making him the second-ever Chinese scientist to win the prestigious award.

Lu， born in 1965， was elected as a CAS academician in 2003 and has been director of the Shenyang National Laboratory of Materials Science since 2018. That same year， he became vice governor of Liaoning Province in northeast China. The scholar is also a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and a foreign member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.

Lu was the 101st recipient of the award， the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said in a statement. Materials physicist Ge Tingsui was the first-ever Chinese scientist to receive the honor in 1999.

Legal Daily March 30

Battered by the COVID-19 pandemic， the catering industry is teetering along. As most eateries operate on e-platforms， cutting operating costs charged by these platforms is key to survival.

Even this year’s government work report， released in March， proposed a cut in such fees for small and medium-sized eateries， as well as favorable policies for those operating in medium- and high-risk COVID-19 areas.

Discounts and rebates were common methods to attract restaurant registration in the early years of e-platform development. Yet once they’d rounded up enough eateries， the platforms began to gain the absolute upper hand in terms of fees and affiliated terms.

So， if the government does not issue regulatory measures as soon as possible， many restaurants might be wiped out amid the lingering pandemic.

Lower operating costs will not only help eateries grab more market shares， but will also consolidate their platform loyalty and see them better positioned to expand in the postCOVID-19 era， in turn assisting the sustainable growth of said platforms.

Oriental Outlook March 17

China is the most populous country in the world， but its huge population number fails to mask problems like declining birth rates. According to the seventh national population census conducted in 2020， compared with the past decade， the annual population growth rate stood at 0.53 percent for the past 10 years， a drop of 0.04 percentage point.

Various factors are to blame for the decline in births， such as a decreasing number of women in their reproductive years， rocketing childrearing costs， and the younger generations’ preference for later marriage and childbirth.

Another resultant problem is that due to the loss of fertility capacity， some couples are unable to bear children， despite a strong desire to have them. According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics， one in eight couples today are reproductively challenged.

Recent years have seen assisted reproduction come under medical insurance coverage in some places， and the development of related technologies is strongly encouraged by the government. Children are the future of any nation.

Workers’ Daily March 31

In response to COVID-19， many supermarkets almost instantly offered up online grocery ordering and contact-free delivery services， making life more convenient for those in lockdown. But this seemingly effective way of shopping is not necessarily convenient for all； just think of those elderly residents who don’t know how to use a smartphone—or its various apps—to order groceries. In some places， they simply cannot gain access to food， even though they can pay for it.

Some seniors have no one to turn to when required to order online. Some of them have been living alone since well before China’s first lockdowns occurred in early 2020， and others are left to fend for themselves because their children are unable to visit them due to COVID-19-related restrictions. They need special care during these hard times.

Indeed， digitization and artificial intelligence are the top irresistible trends in economic and social growth， but society should never turn a blind eye to its older residents， most of whom are not quick to pick up on modern technologies. Even in the digital era， this group should still be given the chance and space to live a good life.

Lian Jie， former co-CEO of gaming company Perfect World Investment & Holding Group and Chairman of Perfect World Pictures， passed away at the age of 48 on March 28 due to illness.

Lian spent the early years of his career at Goldman Sachs after graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Renmin University of China and obtaining a master’s in business administration from the Tuck School of Business， the graduate business school of Dartmouth College， the U.S.， in 2001.

In 2016， Lian became CEO of Perfect World. The company， founded in 2004 as a gaming company， is currently involved in business segments covering movies and TV， online gaming， e-sports， cinemas， animation and education. It established a partnership with Universal Pictures， an American film production and distribution company， in 2016.

“We’d like to warn the United States that emboldening ‘Taiwan independence’ forces under the pretext of ‘democracy’ and the attempt to serve the strategy of using Taiwan to contain China has not led， and never will lead， anywhere.”

Wang Wenbin， spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry， at a daily press briefing on March 29

“Under the current circumstances， we call on the parties concerned to stay calm， exercise restraint， stay on the right track of dialogue and consultation， and avoid taking any action that may exacerbate tensions and lead to miscalculations.”

Zhang Jun， China’s permanent representative to the United Nations， at the Security Council meeting on the situation of the Korean Peninsula on March 25

“We are grateful to the Chinese Government for the cooperation that has existed between our two countries. There is still more to come under our mutual collaboration.”

Mahamudu Bawumia， Ghanaian Vice President， at the groundbreaking ceremony for an inner-city road project contracted by a Chinese company on March 25

“Based on what we know now， the most likely scenario is that the virus continues to evolve， but the severity of the disease it causes will reduce over time as immunity increases due to vaccination and infection rates.”

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus， Director General of the World Health Organization， during an online briefing on March 30