July 25, 2019 – Page 6 – Religious notes

July 25, 2019

Chinas cross-border e-commerce imports soar in H1

(Xinhua)10:15, July 24, 2019

SHANGHAI, July 23 — Chinas cross-border e-commerce imports rose 24.3 percent year on year to 45.65 billion yuan (6.64 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2019, according to a bureau for duty collection of the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

Imports of cosmetics, milk powder, diapers, food and other daily necessities rank the top among all of 1,321 cross-border e-commerce items, according to the Customs National Supervision Bureau for Duty Collection (Shanghai) of GAC.

The soaring imports reveal that more Chinese customers are engaging in cross-border e-commerce, whose lives are more closely connected to cross-border trade, the bureau said.

A total of 37 Chinese cities have been approved for cross-border e-commerce bonded import service, which involved 30 customs, double the number of the 15 customs in 2018.

The bureau, established at the beginning of the year, is in charge of statistics of cross-border e-commerce imports.

July 25, 2019

Chinas H1 investment in transport infrastructure climbs

(Xinhua)10:43, July 24, 2019

BEIJING, July 23 — Chinas fixed-asset investment in transport infrastructure climbed 4.8 percent in the first half of 2019 to 1.37 trillion yuan (about 199.1 billion U.S. dollars), official data showed Tuesday.

The growth accelerated from an increase of 0.7 percent registered in 2018, according to the Ministry of Transport.

A breakdown showed the countrys investment in roads totaled 950.02 billion yuan during the period, up 4.8 percent from one year earlier, while that in waterway areas increased 3.3 percent to 27.96 billion yuan.

This came as the country encouraged infrastructure investment to improve weak links in the sector and boost economic growth.

The countrys infrastructure investment was up 4.1 percent year on year in the first six months, with the growth picking up from 4 percent in the Jan.-May period.

Tuesdays data also showed the countrys cargo freight rose 5.9 percent from one year earlier to 24.58 billion tonnes, but passenger transport volume edged down 1.8 percent year on year.

July 25, 2019

China becomes world’s second largest catering market report

(Peoples Daily Online)13:24, July 24, 2019

(Photo/Xinhua)

China has become the world’s second largest catering market as its annual catering revenue hit 4.3 trillion yuan in 2018, according to a newly published report.

Second only to the U.S., the Chinese catering market is nearly 780 times the size of 40 years ago when China adopted its reform and opening-up policy. The country is expected to overtake the U.S. as the largest catering market in 2023.

The report on China’s catering industry development in 2019 was released by the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry – a key organization in China’s catering industry.

The report revealed that the country’s catering industry has witnessed innovation in management and business models thanks to the development of automatic production technology, digital transformation, a growing online food ordering and delivery market, and an increase in smart and unmanned restaurants.

The volume of China’s online food ordering and delivery market exceeded 250 billion yuan in 2018, with more than 400 million users, said the report.

July 25, 2019

China’s large equipment gains an increased foothold in global market

(Peoples Daily Online)13:37, July 24, 2019

A train runs on the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway during an operational test near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Oct 3, 2016. (Photo/Xinhua)

China’s large equipment industry, such as railways and nuclear power plants, is now gaining an increased foothold in the global market.

Contracted by China Railway Group and China Railway Construction Corporation, the first electrified railway in Africa connecting Addis Ababa and Djibouti officially started commercial operations in 2018. China is also constructing the railway linking Yuxi, southwest Chinas Yunnan province with Vientiane, capital city of Laos.

Chinas ability to build nuclear power plants is acknowledged by both developing and developed countries. In 2016, China General Nuclear Power Engineering Company, Chinas largest nuclear power producer, and Electricite De France, a nuclear power giant in France, signed contracts to construct the Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C nuclear power stations in the UK.

The export of large equipment helps Chinese manufacturers develop overseas as well as bringing job opportunities in the importing countries and stimulating the local economy, said Zhang Jianping, a researcher at Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

China possesses some advantages in exporting large-scale equipment. As the worlds largest manufacturer, China has gained much experience in constructing domestic infrastructure, such as bridges and roads.

Moreover, China provides high quality products with relatively low prices, which meets the expectations of developing countries in Asia and Africa. Chinese enterprises have also built many RD centers and after-sales maintaining branches overseas, ensuring individualized services there.

Many machinery and power generation equipment manufacturers have established industrial parks to build complete industrial chains in the overseas countries, which sets good examples for other enterprises, said Zhang.

Zhang also mentioned that Chinese manufacturers should develop technologies, improve the quality of products and services, and build brands to become more competitive in the global market.

July 25, 2019

China encourages more students to play football

(Xinhua)10:15, July 24, 2019

BEIJING, July 23 — China has made notable progress in promoting football in schools through enhanced training, more school games and upgraded facilities, an education official said Tuesday.

The country has named 24,126 primary and middle schools across the country as specialist football schools to spearhead youth football development, said Wang Dengfeng, a senior official with the Ministry of Education, at a press conference.

The schools are required to offer at least one football class each week and encourage their students to participate in football training and competitions, Wang said.

China aims to have 50,000 schools specializing in youth football by the end of 2025, said Wang, adding the ministry will take measures to realize the goal, including building more school football fields, training football coaches as well as providing extra funding and policy support.

In the past four years, local education departments have trained about 40,000 football teachers and 8,000 of them have obtained coaching certificates.

By Sept. last year, schools across the country had about 120,000 football fields of all sizes, including fields for five-a-side, seven-a-side and standard football games.

From 2015 to 2018, the country built and upgraded about 32,000 football fields in schools and planned to add 29,000 fields by 2020, according to Wang.

Besides more training programs in schools, outstanding players will also have the chance to join inter-school teams for regional competitions and even national summer camps.

This year over 8,000 students, 2,000 coaches and 200 experts from home and abroad will take part in the two-month national summer camp, which kicked off on July 14, Wang said.

The country has stepped up its efforts in promoting football in schools since it set up a seven-department joint task force, including the education, sport and finance authorities as well as the Chinese Football Association, in 2015.

July 25, 2019

China names 24,126 schools specializing in youth football

(Xinhua)10:19, July 24, 2019

BEIJING, July 23 — China has named 24,126 primary and middle schools across the country specialist football schools to spearhead youth football development, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said Tuesday.

The schools are required to offer at least one football class each week and encourage their students to participate in football training and competitions, said Wang Dengfeng, an official with the MOE, at a press conference.

Moreover, 135 counties nationwide have been picked to operate pilot school football projects, and 47 football training camps built in an effort to promote the sport among young people, said the ministry.

The authorities also issued a guideline for teaching football and a syllabus for football courses in primary, middle and high schools. Football teaching videos have been made and will be offered to schools across the country.

July 25, 2019

Fu Yuanhui leads pool into womens 50m backstroke semi at FINA Worlds

(Xinhua)17:25, July 24, 2019

GWANGJU, South Korea, July 24 — Chinas Fu Yuanhui led the pool into womens 50m backstroke semifinals at the 18th FINA World Championships here on Wednesday.

Fu, who grabbed a 100m backstroke bronze medal in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, finished first in 27.70 seconds in the 50m backstroke heats.

The Chinese swimmer, who got shockingly knocked out of the 100m backstroke trials on Monday, was followed by Etiene Medeiros of Brazil in 27.85 and Kira Toussaint of the Netherlands in 27.86 each in the 100m back heats.

Caeleb Dressel of the United States, who won seven titles in Budapest two years ago, qualified for semifinals in the mens 100m freestyle, hitting the wall first in 47.32 seconds.

Chinas He Junyi finished 14th in the 100m free preliminaries with a time of 48.76 seconds, managing to win a ticket for the semifinals later in the day.

In the mens 200m individual medley (IM) heats, Laszlo Cseh of Hungary punched the first ticket to the semifinals with a time of 1.57.79. Chinas Wang Shun timed 1:59.18, qualifying for the semifinals.

Hali Flickinger of the United States touched home first in the womens 200m butterfly heats, clocking 2:05.96. Chinas Zhu Jianming advanced into the semifinals with a time of 2:10.54.

The United States won the mixed 4x100m medley relay preliminaries, finishing in 3:41.23 to advance into the final in the evening.

The U.S. team was followed by Australia with a time of 3:42.22 and Russia in 3:43.30 respectively.

July 25, 2019

Children under 2 should have zero screen time Aussie health experts

(Xinhua)10:51, July 24, 2019

SYDNEY, July 24 — The average time that children under two are spending on electronic devices such as mobile phones and tablets is getting out of control, according to new research by Australian health experts.

Released on Wednesday in the Medical Journal of Australia, the University of Queensland study found that some young children are spending around 50 minutes a day in front of screens.

But according to guidelines laid out by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Australian government and many other international bodies, children with developing brains aged under two years old should have zero screen time.

We were surprised to see the rapid increase in screen time from the first month of infancy, author of the study Associate Professor Leigh Tooth from UQs School of Public Health warned.

Children are spending almost an hour per day in front of a screen before they turn one.

Children under two who should not be spending any time in front of a screen.

The study found that for children around three years of age, the average time spent on digital devices was 94 minutes per weekday.

We need to let people know that young children should not be in front of a screen for long periods because there is emerging evidence this could be detrimental to their development and growth, Tooth said.

Screen time represents a missed opportunity where children could be practising and mastering a developmental skill, like skipping and jumping, over being sedentary and transfixed to a screen.

Its very easy to use screen time with children because there are so many child-friendly apps and games developed for young children and parents.

If you give a child an iPad for 30 minutes then theyre going to be transfixed — you can understand why parents give their children access to screens, she added.

Urging parents to abide by the WHOs screen time guidelines, Tooth said it will give young children the best possible start in life.

The guidelines are there for a reason, and that is to protect your babys health and development, she said.

The fear is that it is these early years where the most negative impact on health and development can occur.

July 25, 2019

Four more sites in Lancang-Mekong sub-region added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List

(Peoples Daily Online)13:12, July 24, 2019

Bagan (Photo/ Xinhua)

During its 43rd session in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee inscribed four more sites in the Lancang-Mekong sub-region on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Bagan (Myanmar) — Located in the central plain of Myanmar, Bagan is an ancient city with numerous Buddhist temples built by the Pagan Kingdom between the 9th and 13th centuries.

Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhouang — Plain of Jars (Photo/ Xinhua)

Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhouang — Plain of Jars (Laos) — The Plain of Jars, located on a plateau in northern Laos, gets its name from more than 2,100 tubular-shaped megalithic stone jars used for funerary practices in the Iron Age. The stone jars can be dated from 500 BCE to 500 CE.

Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City (Photo/ Xinhua)

Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City (China) — Located in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province, the archaeological ruins of Liangzhu (about 3300-2300 BCE) reveal an early regional state with a unified belief system based on rice cultivation in Late Neolithic China. The property is composed of the city site, the high-dam at the mouth of the valley and differentiated burials in cemeteries.

Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase I) (Photo/ Xinhua)

Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase I) (China) — Located in Yancheng, east China’s Jiangsu Province, the site is a sanctuary for 23 migratory bird species of global importance, including the world’s most endangered species. It is also the largest stopover for the country’s red-crowned crane in winter.

China and Mekong countries have long been involved in cooperation in protection and restoration of cultural relics, promoting the progress of human civilization.

In 1961, the country provided funds for the protection of Bagan. China has also helped restore ruined temples in the complex of Angkor since it was named a World Heritage site in 1992, winning high praise from the Cambodian government and people.

In May 2017, China and Myanmar signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in restoration and protection of Bagan after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in August 2016.

In 2018, the Cambodian government entrusted the Chinese team to restore the Royal Palace of Angkor Thom, the most important part of the cultural site.

July 25, 2019

China taking more important roles in western movies

(Peoples Daily Online)15:20, July 24, 2019

The representation of China in western movies has been becoming more and more positive in recent years.

In many western movies, China is no longer a poor and weak country. For instance, the modernity of the Chinese metropolises has been depicted in Mission: Impossible III in 2006, The Dark Knight in 2008 and Skyfall in 2013.

In addition, the role of Chinese characters are taking more important positions in western movies.

According to the BBC, Disney recently released a teaser trailer for the live-action remake of its 1998 classic Mulan, a story based on a legendary female warrior who disguises herself as a man to fight in place of her ailing father in Chinas imperial army.

When the 1998 animated film hit the screen, China was not yet a major market of Disney. But 20 years later, the country has become the second largest film market in the world.

Chinese audiences are clearly more sophisticated now, so if Disney wants to win them back, they have to nail the cultural aspects of Mulan, said Stanley Rosen, a professor in political science from the University of Southern California.

China has a long history and diverse culture, and western moviemakers represented by Hollywood need to employ Chinese aspects for innovation so that they can satisfy the need of global movie goers. In addition, they also need to use these elements to strengthen their relation with the audiences in China – home to the world鈥檚 most large amount of cinema screens.

The aspects of China in western movies have largely promoted mutual learning between Chinese and western civilizations. They enhanced the western audiences鈥?understanding of traditional Chinese culture, which will improve China鈥檚 soft power and international influence. Besides, Chinese audiences can find different charms and beauty of the Chinese culture in the Chinese figures portrayed in western movies.