WRITER HONORED FOR JUVENILE LITERATURE ACHIEVEMENTS

Childrens fiction writer Cao Wenxuan became the first ever Chinese person to win the Hans Christian Andersen Award at the Bologna Childrens Book Fair in Italy on April 4. The award， which is named after the 19th-century Danish fairy tale creator， is considered the highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of childrens books.

“The unanimous choice of the jury， Cao writes beautifully about the complex lives of children facing great challenges，” said Patricia Aldana， President of the 2016 Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury.

Born in 1954 in a small village in east Chinas Jiangsu Province， Cao studied in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Peking University （PKU） in 1974-77. He is now a professor of Chinese literature and childrens literature at PKU.

He began to publish stories for children in 1979. His major novels include Grass Hut， The Thin Rice and Bronze and Sunflower. Some of his books have been translated into English， French， Japanese and other foreign languages.

“All of my stories are set in China， all of them are Chinese stories， but at the same time they are stories of humankind，” Cao told Xinhua News Agency after his awards announcement.

Childrens literature is meant to create “a good basis for human nature for the sake of humankind，” Cao said.

Safety Awareness Can Make a Difference

Xinhua Daily Telegraph April 5

A pile-up on an expressway linking Shanghai and neighboring Jiangsu Province left three dead and over 30 injured on April 2. Two freight cars， three buses and 20 cars crashed into each other in the crash.

The accident has once again thrust a spotlight upon the bad driving behavior of many motorists.

For example， rescuers who rushed to the scene after the accident found the lane legally reserved for use only by emergency vehicles was blocked by private cars.

Transgressions in traffic rules are common in China. Drivers and pedestrians often turn a blind eye to traffic lights at crossroads. Many drivers go over the speed limit， change lanes without turning on their indicators， and drive in the emergency lane on expressways.

Driving schools are partly to blame for this as they solely focus on helping students pass the license exam rather than teaching them driving etiquette.

It is estimated that at least 2.5 million cars will be sold every year in the next five years. By 2020， the number of cars on Chinas roads is expected to reach 300 million. It is urgent that everybody obeys traffic rules in order to ensure safety.

Cultivating High-Caliber Citizens

Outlook Weekly March 28

As the economy develops， the “caliber” of Chinese peoples social behavior has lagged. Discourteous acts such as spitting in public have tainted their image and may， in turn， hinder the countrys economic and social progress.

Outlook Weekly and Beijing-based China Mainland Media Research Co. Ltd. conducted a joint survey on the overall caliber of the population in March by interviewing more than 2 million people in 12 cities across China. The questionnaire contained 11 categories of questions concerning national spirit， moral standards， legal awareness， professional competence， social manners， disaster relief and reduction awareness， international recognition level， scientific literacy， physical conditions， learning habits and family traditions.

Worryingly， only 30 percent of the interviewees were satisfied with the overall character of the population， while 50 percent regarded it as “mediocre” and as much as 17.7 percent gave a “poor” rating.

The overall caliber of the population and the level of civility in society are being upheld as the new measuring-sticks and necessary factors for building a moderately prosperous society in all aspects of China.

However， the improvement of the populations cultural quality takes a long time. The key lies in education.

On one hand， traditional values such as benevolence and righteousness should be drawn upon. On the other hand， modern concepts such as social responsibility， legal awareness and the observation of rules should be integrated into the education system.

In addition， a fair and equal social environment and affectionate family relations will also contribute to the cultivation of social decorum.

Is a Longer Weekend Feasible？

Nanfang Daily April 5

Workplaces that have the circumstances to permit it have been encouraged to offer employees a two-and-a-half-day weekend in summer， according to a document published by the General Office of the State Council last August. As of recently， at least eight provinces have come up with detailed regulations on implementing the shortened work hour system.

But the two-and-a-half-day weekend is not compulsory. Employers have the discretionary power in determining whether or not to prolong their workers weekends. Therefore， in reality， some companies that prioritize profits may refuse to reduce work hours for fear of its impact on production， while some government departments and public institutions may allow employees an extra half day off work regardless of whether such an arrangement actually affects their operations.

The two-and-a-half-day weekend will allow people to spend more time on travel and other leisure activities. However， such an arrangement alone is insufficient to spur the tourist industry as policymakers have expected.

A reasonable holiday system should enable employees to fully enjoy their right to vacations. The top priority at present is to thoroughly implement the paid leave system. A longer weekend will only become possible when the paid leave system is well implemented.

SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE SYRIAN ISSUE

Veteran diplomat Xie Xiaoyan has been appointed as Chinas special envoy for the Syrian issue， Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a news briefing on April 5.

Xie， 62， began his career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1978. He served as ambassador to Iran from December 2007 to November 2011 and then as ambassador to Ethiopia as well as representative to the African Union until April 2015.

With a rich understanding of Middle Eastern affairs， Xie will fulfill his mission effectively， Hong said.

With the Syrian issue “at a crucial stage of settlement，” China has named the special envoy to promote better dialogue， contribute Chinese wisdom， and communicate with other parties to facilitate a proper solution， the spokesman added.

Syrian government troops and the opposition are implementing a ceasefire agreement， with humanitarian assistance progressing. The latest round of Syrian peace talks were wrapped up in Geneva on March 31.

“The substantial assistance from China in various aspects means a great deal for our country. I believe that China will continue to be Myanmars good friend.”

Aung San Suu Kyi， Myanmars Foreign Minister， speaking to her visiting Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Naypyidaw on April 5

“Hes had a phenomenal impact on increasing the awareness of the NBA in places outside the United States in a way that no other player could have.”

Tan Jianxiang， a sports sociology professor at South China Normal University， in response to former NBA eight-time All-Star Yao Mings induction to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield， Massachusetts

“All experiments conducted on the SJ-10 satellite are completely new ones that could lead to key breakthroughs in academic research.”

Hu Wenrui， chief scientist of the SJ-10 mission， speaking about Chinas first retrievable scientific research satellite studying microgravity and space life science， which was launched on April 6， in a recent interview with Xinhua News Agency

“The sanctions are intended to urge Pyongyang to come back to the negotiating table. The sanctions themselves cannot be deemed as a purpose.”

Shi Yongming， a researcher with the China Institute of International Studies， commenting after Chinas Ministry of Commerce on April 5 unveiled a list of banned North Korean imports and exports