CROWNED SNOOKER PLAYER

Liang Wenbo won his first ranking event title and prize money of 70，000 pounds（$86，000） after beating former world number one Judd Trump 9-6 in the final of the inaugural English Open in Manchester on October 16.

The 29-year-old also became only the second player from the Chinese mainland， after Ding Junhui， to win a world ranking title. The talented left-hander reached the first ranking event final of his career at the 2009 Shanghai Masters， when he lost out 10-5 to Ronnie OSullivan. Liang reached his second ranking final at the 2015 UK Championship， but was defeated by Neil Robertson of Australia.

Hailing from northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province， Liang started to play snooker at the age of 13.

“I enjoy snooker. Its an extremely difficult sport. If you cant enjoy it， youll make mistakes and not play well. You should enjoy it and keep calm，” Liang said.

Fabricated Transactions Unacceptable

Beijing Youth Daily October 13

The Henan Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce has recently busted a ring which faked transactions for vendors on ecommerce website JD.com in order to attract more customers. During approximately two years， the fraudsters fabricated nearly 5 million transactions， worth over 1.7 billion yuan （$252 million）， for some 2，000 vendors.

Falsifying page view and transaction numbers misleads potential customers. Although the practice can be profitable for online vendors， it seriously damages their image if exposed.

Continuation of the illegal practice hinders the development of the e-commerce industry and jeopardizes the survival of online retailers.

To confront the problem， legislation needs to be improved to specify punishments for online fraud， and law enforcement should also be strengthened.

Monitoring numbers of e-stores should be strengthened， and investigations should be conducted into shops with unusually high traffic.

Successful companies around the world reap profits through hard work. Companies that wish to attain wealth overnight through cheating are bound to fail.

Internet companies represent an important avenue for Chinas ongoing economic restructuring. Great attention should be attached， therefore， to combating online fraud， because it can detrimentally affect the emerging Internet industry at large.

On the Way to Eradicating Poverty

China.org.cn October 19

Every year， International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17 unites world leaders in seeking to show tangible progress and create prosperity for citizens without discrimination. Some data， however， arent very encouraging， even for developed countries.

A recent Eurostat survey shows approximately 119 million people （23.7 percent of the population） in the European Union were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2015. Although this is a slight decrease in comparison to previous years， it is still higher than in the prefinancial crisis period.

If the situation in developed countries can prove problematic， it is apparently even more complex in developing ones. The case which subsequently deserves particular attention is that of China， for two main reasons.

First， the country has the largest population so that the numbers facing poverty can easily become headline-making. Second， however， the country has already made an enormous contribution to poverty reduction and this performance constitutes a model for its own future policies as well as an example for other states.

A new government white paper provides useful numbers. Specifically， more than 700 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty over the past three decades. In addition， the proportion of people living in extreme poverty fell from 61 percent in 1990 to 4.2 percent in 2014. Steady development of several sectors in the national economy and the implementation of market-oriented reforms were the keys to this success.

The systematic effort to eradicate poverty in China has also led international bodies to study its potential applicability to other cases. For instance， the UN World Food Program has argued that steps taken in China in the past could help reduce hunger in other developing countries.

However， this is not the right time for triumphalism or relaxation. The mission of the Chinese Government has not been accomplished yet. In fact， more work needs to be done as approximately 70 million people still live under the poverty line. China is committed to eliminating the problem by 2020.

Updating Food Safety Supervision

Peoples Daily October 17

Instant noodles used to be popular among people in China. Production and sales volumes of the product， however， respectively dropped 8.54 and 6.75 percent year on year in 2015. The cooling of demand reflects the transformation and upgrading of dietary habits across the nation.

In actual fact， instant noodles are not alone in losing favor； fast food such as McDonalds is also losing appeal， as consumers begin to attach greater importance to health when purchasing food. Furthermore， mobile apps now enable people to order restaurant food online and have it delivered. So， its hardly surprising that consumers are abandoning instant noodles.

The booming online food delivery market， however， has raised certain issues. Most significantly， numerous restaurants with subpar hygiene have been exposed by the media.

Food safety supervision， therefore， should be upgraded to fit the development of the new market situation. A regulation enacted in October stipulates punishments for food safety violations by online food ordering platforms and restaurants. Relevant authorities should also carry out spot checks on restaurants and ingredient suppliers in order to guarantee food safety. Online food ordering platforms， meanwhile， should raise their thresholds for vendors.

AMBASSADOR AWARDED

Chinas ambassador to Cuba， Zhang Tuo， received on October 13 the highest award granted by the Cuban Government to foreign diplomats， the Friendship Medal， for his efforts to consolidate ties between the two countries.

During his tenure of four years and nine months， the longest of the 17 Chinese ambassadors who have served in the Caribbean country， Zhang helped boost and expand bilateral ties in all fields and strengthen political dialogue between the top leaders of the two nations， said Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez at the awards ceremony.

As a result of the enhancement of bilateral relations at all levels， Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Cuba in 2014， and he was followed by Premier Li Keqiang last month.

Both visits witnessed the signing of important agreements in biotechnology， cybersecurity， renewable energy and medical research， among others.

Cuban President Raul Castro paid a visit to China in 2012， and first Vice President Miguel Diaz Canel also visited in both 2013 and 2015.

Zhang thanked the Cuban Government for the award， saying it was a great honor for him to mark the end of his 39-year diplomatic career with the medal.

Zhang， 62， also served as ambassador to Bolivia， Argentina and Venezuela.

“If you reduce food waste， you can also reduce the impact of climate change. But not everybody understands that. So you need to educate people.”

Vincent Martin， representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in China， at a World Food Day event in Nanjing， Jiangsu Province， on October 16

“After watching the TV series， we know how serious and complex the graft issues are， and that its necessary for the government to carry out a continuous and persistent campaign to target corruption.”

Li Wei， an anti-graft official in Liaoning Province， commenting on an eight-episode documentary aired on China Central Television containing confessions of imprisoned corrupt officials and juicy details of corruption

“For Chinese billionaires， most of whom are first-generation， the transfer of wealth to millennials will have a profound effect on family legacies they have built.”

Karen Chen， President of UBS （China）， in response to a recent report by investment bank UBS and accounting firm PwC which predicted that the largest ever transfer of wealth in Asia is coming， as around 85 percent of the continents billionaires are self-made

“Training foreign journalists in China allows them to experience the countrys full complexity， thus ensuring more objectivity and consideration when they portray China to their audience.”

Hu Zhengrong， President of the Communication University of China， commenting recently on training programs for foreign journalists offered by Chinese universities