ASTEROID NAMED AFTER SCIENTIST

An asteroid was officially named after Chinese scientist Song Jian to mark his contributions to aerospace engineering on March 16.

Song， born in 1931， in east Chinas Shandong Province， is an academician of both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering （CAE）. He is known for his achievements in the fields of cybernetics and systems engineering， and has served as president of the CAE. Over the course of his career， Song has led several technological initiatives， including the 863 Program， also known as the National Hi-Tech Research and Development Program， and the Torch Program， which addresses the commercialization of hi-tech research findings.

The asteroid， which orbits between Mars and Jupiter， was first discovered by a Chinese researcher in August 2007 and was approved by the Small Bodies Naming Committee of the International Astronomical Union in October 2014. Around 120 asteroids have been named after Chinese luminaries， institutions and places.

The Rise of the Robots

Caixin Century Weekly March 2

Industrial robots are invading the territory held by workers in China at a staggering speed. Take Midea Group， one of Chinas leading home appliances manufacturers， for example. The number of workers it employs is dropping rapidly thanks to the utilization of industrial robots and other automation equipment. The staff in its base in Handan， north Chinas Hebei Province， has shrunk from 3，800 to 2，800， while that in Shunde District of Foshan， south Chinas Guangdong Province， has been reduced from 2，800 to the present 800.

Industrial robots were initially used in highly pollutant and monotonous types of work， such as spray painting. Gradually， their cost advantages became apparent. With essential industrial tasks such as welding， industrial robots are cheaper than manual labor. The Chinese Government has introduced various policies to support the robot manufacturing industry in a bid to rid China of the label of “the worlds factory.” In upgrading the countrys manufacturing sector， the manufacturing and utilization of robots will continue to be a pivotal high-end focus.

So what about reduced employment？ A study conducted by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in 2014 shows that the utilization of robots has little influence on employment because China has a demand for labor exceeding supply. With an evaporating demographic dividend and a consequent increase in cost of labor， a revolution in the workshop is taking place. The growth of automation has become an inexorable trend and the era of robots is fast approaching.

Reshaping Urban Communities

Oriental Outlook March 12

Urban community governance reforms are being carried out in more than 40 pilot zones across China. According to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics， Chinas urbanization rate in 2014 reached 54.77 percent. As rural residents increasingly migrate to cities， urban communities are fast becoming the basic units of national governance.

The current reforms center on transforming communities role by reducing the number of community-related administrative items and improving their ability to furnish members with more services. For example， in Qinhuai District of Nanjing， one of the aforementioned pilot zones， 15 service centers have been established to deal with family planning as well as issues concerning senior citizens and the disabled.

However， a prominent problem faced by almost all of the urban communities is the lack of resident participation. In some areas where migrants take up a large proportion of the community， residents show little interest in public affairs. In order to encourage participation in community affairs， Jinjiang District of Chengdu has allocated funds to its subordinate communities to host activities. The district has also formulated rules for community residents to conduct discussions on public affairs.

In order to improve the service capacity of communities， the roles of NGOs should be given full play. Many problems need to be solved by professional social workers specializing in the area of service for children， senior citizens and the family.

Curbing False Advertising

Beijing Times March 11

Leading U.S. toothpaste producer Crest has been fined 6.03 million yuan （$960，000） for a misleading TV commercial， the largest fine yet imposed for such an offense in China. The company is by no means the sole perpetrator： Chinese television is rife with fraudulent advertising. Exaggerating the products whitening effect through Photoshopping the advertisement is a standard practice for toothpaste commercials. Audiences have become accustomed to such commercials and would not naively believe that their teeth would whiten one day after using the advertised product.

The Advertisement Law， which was introduced in 1995， stipulates that commercials should contain no false or misleading content. The fact that a fine of this magnitude was imposed 20 years after the law was implemented indicates that it was not well enforced. However， its often hard to demarcate between the “unrealistic” exaggeration present in most commercials and concrete claims that are untrue. At times， a commercial might inadvertently cross the line that subtly divides the two practices.

Nevertheless， commercials that make fraudulent claims should be duly punished and companies should behave in an honest and upfront fashion. Additionally， these standards should not only be upheld by companies but also by celebrities who lend their name to the endorsement of products.

A STArT-UP for STArT-UPS

Mao daqing， Vice President of Vanke Co.， announced his departure from the leading property developer to launch a startup serving young entrepreneurs on March 9.

Mao， born in 1969 in Beijing， is one of the top professional managers in China. He holds a PhD degree in management from Tongji University， and a postdoctoral degree in regional economics from Peking University. Mao joined Vanke as vice president and general manager in August 2009.

Mao said he would focus on creating a business to provide a one-stop package of services encompassing office rentals， financial consulting and investment to young entrepreneurs who have founded startups. Maos new company will purchase and refurbish old buildings， before renting them to young entrepreneurs as affordable offices.

Mao said he would continue to be “an external partner” of Vanke， which pledged its support for Maos startup venture.

“The AIIB is an inclusive and open multilateral financial institution. It has not been designed to replace existent development banks.”

Shi Yaobin， Vice Finance Minister， commenting positively on the decision of France， Italy and Germany to follow Britains footsteps in joining Chinas proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank （AIIB）， in Berlin on March 17

“The [Guangdong Pilot] FTZ will further open up to Hong Kong and Macao investors under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement framework.”

Zhu Xiaodan， Governor of Guangdong Province， explaining that the newly approved free trade zone（FTZ） will play a central role in facilitating economic cooperation between the province and its neighboring special administrative regions

“Weapons are seized from drug traffickers with alarming frequency， and a few have even become violent when they were apprehended.”

Ji Xiangde， a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， stressing that China still faces a serious problem with drug-related crimes， although it has started to make headway， on March 18

“Almost all Costa Ricans have seen the Chinese kungfu films of Bruce Lee， Jackie Chan and Jet Li. People here have always identified strongly with the mysticism of Chinese Buddhism.”

Francisco Lee， director of a San Jose martial art school nicknamed Costa Rican Shaolin Temple， highlighting the popularity of kungfu in Latin America