SHAANXI’S,EX-PARTY,CHIEF,PLEADS,GUILTY,TO,BRIBERY,CHARGE

SHAANXIS EX-PARTY CHIEF PLEADS GUILTY TO BRIBERY CHARGE

Zhao Zhengyong， former Secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC）， pleaded guilty to accepting bribes of more than 700 million yuan （$99 million） at his trial on May 11. Prosecutors clarified that 291 million yuan （$41.03 million） had not been actually paid.

From 2003 to 2018， Zhao made use of his various posts to favor individuals and departments in project contracting， job promotions and business operations.

Zhao， also a former national legislator， was placed under investigation in January 2019 on suspicion of serious violations of laws and CPC disciplinary rules. He was removed from public offi ce in March 2019.

During the trial， he pleaded guilty and expressed remorse in his fi nal statement. The court in the port city of Tianjin said the sentence will be announced later.

Online Literature

Xinhua Daily Telegraph May 6

Responding to a new contract drafted by China Literature， an online portal for novels， which could reportedly grant the platform excessive rights to the content it distributes， many authors announced they would stop uploading their stories to the portal. This forced the platform to revise some of its terms.

The development of online literature has created many quality stories for Chinas culture industry in recent years. By the end of 2019， China had 17.55 million online literature writers and 455 million readers. And the numbers will continue to climb.

The success of web literature was achieved by the joint efforts of authors and platforms. Writers who create excellent works bring portals profits， while they enjoy the support provided by these platforms， such as incentives， training and copyright management services.

Therefore， in the face of disputes， both authors and platforms should reach consensus as soon as possible through rational negotiations.

The industry should consolidate its advantages and fully exploit the value of outstanding online literature. At the same time， platforms should provide more incentives， welfare guarantees and copyright management services to protect the rights and interests of authors.

Enlarging the Educational Force

Guangming Daily May 8

The Ministry of Education， along with five other authorities， recently unveiled several special projects to ease the employment pressure.

Over 400，000 college graduates will be recruited to teach at elementary， secondary and vocational schools， as well as kindergartens. They will be allowed to start working before taking teacher certifi cation exams until the end of the year as long as they are eligible to apply for the exam and have professional competence.

There will be 8.74 million new college graduates this year facing signifi cant challenges fi nding jobs amid the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic. Thus， those projects will not only create more employment possibilities but also reserve talent for the development of primary education.

However， some people are concerned that overlooking certification， even temporarily， may lower the overall quality of new teachers. Some noted that the graduates will receive specific training and will still have to meet certain qualifications after recruitment. Since certification exams usually focus on theoretical knowledge， they are not the only standard for evaluation.

In recent years， conditions at rural schools have greatly improved along with the promotion of education for poverty alleviation. However， the gap between urban and rural areas still exists， with teachers being the critical factor for improving education. Due to the pandemic， general public budget revenue has declined， which can be a challenge to guarantee good salaries for teachers. Therefore， governments at all levels should adhere to prioritizing education and stabilizing the financial investment in education.

Entrepreneurship Guideline

Peoples Daily May 8

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs released a guideline in January to support people returning home to set up businesses， hoping entrepreneurs would create more jobs for people in rural areas to help them shake off poverty.

Entrepreneurship in villages relies on stimulating the vitality of various resources. Along with abundant space， rural areas also enjoy the advantage of a large and fl exible labor force.

Choosing a good project is very crucial as it can attract capital， talent and technology to the countryside. Instead of imitating the experience in other areas， people should make targeted plans according to local conditions. Local governments should implement policies to create a sound business environment， which is a necessary support for enterprises to survive a competitive market. Developing a fair， open and transparent environment with high effi ciency is one of the most reliable guarantees for people returning home and starting up businesses.

However， local governments should adhere to high quality standards and principles， while drawing up a negative list to avoid problems such as overcapacity.

NEW CEO FOR TROUBLED LUCKIN

Guo Jinyi， Luckin Coffees senior vice president and co-founder， was appointed acting CEO of the company on May 13 after reports of fabricated transactions in April led to the exit of the former CEO and chief operating offi cer （COO）.

Liu Jian， the former COO and a director of the company， and several employees reporting to him， had engaged in misconduct， including fabricating transactions， according to the companys statement.

The fabricated sales transactions from April to December 2019 amounted to around 2.2 billion yuan （$310 million）， according to Luckins preliminary internal investigation. Subsequently， Liu and CEO Qian Zhiya resigned.

Guo was senior vice president in charge of the product and supply chain since October 2017， and a director since 2018.

Luckin Coffee， founded in 2017， is headquartered in Xiamen， Fujian Province in southeast China. It has built an online-offl ine model combining its mobile platform and store networks.

“Our lab not only has a high level of biosafety infrastructure， we have also established a set of rigorous biosecurity protocols to ensure the lab operates safely and efficiently.”

Yuan Zhiming， head of the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory， telling Science and Technology Daily while detailing how it was impossible for a virus to have been leaked from the lab， on May 10

“Now the U.S. is resorting to discriminatory media visa measures， severely disrupting Chinese medias normal reporting activities in the U.S. and affecting bilateral people-to-people cultural exchanges.”

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian， refuting the U.S. decision to restrict visas for Chinese journalists to 90 days at a press briefi ng on May 11

“China has to be culturally aware and much more knowledgeable of how opinion in these [Western] countries works and value its importance in developing cooperation.”

Martin Jacques， former senior fellow at Cambridge University， in an interview with China Global Television Network on May 12

“If China further taps into its own market potential and releases individual consumption capacity， after the countrys annual per-capita GDP surpassed $10，000 last year， continued economic growth is predicted.”

Fan Gang， Director of the National Economic Research Institute， at the 2020 Global Venture Capital Online Conference on May 10