ALIBABA FOUNDER ASSUMES UN ROLE

Jack Ma， founder and Executive Chairman of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group， was named special adviser to the UN Conference on Trade and Development （UNCTAD） for youth entrepreneurship and small businesses on September 20.

In a press release， UNCTAD said that in his new role， Ma will champion initiatives to raise awareness about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to make it easier for young entrepreneurs and small businesses， particularly in developing countries， to participate in global trade.

Recognizing the power of the Internet to level the playing field for small businesses and entrepreneurs， Ma set up Alibaba in Hangzhou， east Chinas Zhejiang Province， in 1999. Today over 10 million small and medium-sized enterprises in China operate in Alibabas online marketplaces.

Ma， who graduated in 1988 from Hangzhou Normal University with a degree in English language education， has been an active advisor to multiple governments and business institutions worldwide.

Hazardous Waste Disposal Needs Stricter Control

Legal Daily September

A recent case involving the illegal disposal of a massive amount of hazardous waste has attracted widespread attention. A suspect allegedly transported over 240 tons of dangerous liquid waste from two chemical factories in Yueyang City， central Chinas Hunan Province， to villages in Hunan and neighboring Jiangxi Province. Environmental protection and public security authorities in Hunan jointly launched an investigation into the case.

In China， strict laws and regulations govern the disposal of dangerous waste. Enterprises are required to notify environmental protection departments of the amount of waste they pro- duce， the possible harm it can cause and how they will dispose of it. If enterprises plan to dispose of waste in places other than where they are located， they need to gain approval from the authorities.

The illegal discharge， dumping or disposal of more than 3 tons of dangerous waste constitutes a crime， which carries a punishment of up to seven years imprisonment. Cases of dumping hazardous waste in rural areas， though， are not rare. In the case in question， the suspect， who was not licensed to treat dangerous waste， was chosen over properly licensed companies because he offered to take on the task for a much lower price.

Such illegal activities manage to avert environmental damage in urban areas at the expense of causing serious ecological damage to underdeveloped rural areas. Equal importance should be attached to environmental protection in both urban and rural areas， and punishments for illegally discharging waste in rural areas should be strictly enforced.

Foreign Fast Food Chains Up for Grabs

Caixin Weekly September 12

Yum China—the China unit of U.S. restaurant company Yum！ Brands Inc.， whose best-known brands are KFC， Pizza Hut and Taco Bell—and McDonalds Inc. have recently adopted different approaches for dealing with their businesses in China in the face of sluggish sales growth.

In September， Yum China attracted funding worth $460 million from investment firm Primavera Capital and Ant Financial， a subsidiary of Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba， in exchange for a combined stake of between 4.3 percent and 5.4 percent in Yum China. Its parent company plans to spin off the China business into a separate， publicly traded company by the end of this year.

McDonalds， however， has chosen to sell a 20-year franchise for its Chinese mainland outlets， both the 1，500 existing ones and new outlets to be opened in the future. Some of the notable potential franchisees include global private equity firms Carlyle Group and TPG Capital， which have separately teamed up with partners in China to bid for the business， whose value is estimated at up to $3 billion. Carlyle has joined with Chinese state-owned conglomerate CITIC Group， while TPG has got together with Chinese retail company Wumart Stores.

Yum China contributes a half of the global revenue of Yum！ Brands， while McDonalds restaurants in China account for just 5 percent of the fast food chains global business. Declining sales in China since 2015 have prompted the two to change their regional business strategies.

Say No to Vulgar Internet Celebrities

Peoples Daily September 23

Online celebrities have become a phenomenon in China. According to estimates， some 1 million Internet celebrities exist in the country. Many so-called “celebrities，” however， are plagued with undesirable issues such as violence and pornography.

Violent and pornographic content， which satisfies a desire to peep into others private lives， easily draws attention as it breaks social decorum. A number of Internet celebrities， consequently， willingly risk violating the law in pursuit of huge financial rewards. According to statistics released by the Ministry of Culture in July， 16，881 online performers were punished for violating laws and regulations during an overhaul of webcasting platforms by the ministry.

Vulgar online performances have serious side effects on society. They also damage cultural creativity and progress. Younger generations， who constitute the backbone of the future society， make up an overwhelming majority of Internet celebrity fans—87.2 percent are under 25 years old. Negative impacts on young people， therefore， must not be neglected.

Meanwhile， online celebrities who gain attention by spreading vulgar content will find it hard to sustain their businesses， because their transgression of social etiquette will prevent them from obtaining long-term investment funding.

Internet celebrities are public figures and should therefore shoulder proportionate social responsibilities. They should exercise self-discipline and constantly strive to improve themselves in order to thrive. Internet users， for their part， should select healthy content to view online and stay away from vulgarities.

FROM OFFICE WORKER TO NAVAL OFFICER

Wei Huixiao， who recently became Chinas first female vice captain of a naval vessel， has garnered widespread attention for her persistence in pursuing her dreams.

After receiving a bachelors degree in atmospheric sciences from Nanjing University in 2000， Wei joined Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies. Four years later， she enrolled in Guangzhous Sun Yat-sen University to pursue masters and PhD degrees in earth sciences.

In 2010， while still at the university， Wei applied to join the Navy. Having passed the selection process， she started her service in February 2012 on Chinas first aircraft carrier， Liaoning. Earlier this year， she was promoted to vice captain of a guided missile destroyer， the first woman to reach the rank in the history of the Chinese Navy.

Wei， who belongs to the Tujia minority ethnic group， was born in 1977 in southwest Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

“The point is that we cannot treat the restoration of cultural relics as a general construction project. Restoration should be treated like a piece of art.”

Song Xinchao， deputy head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage， commenting on September 23 on a controversial flat protective layer which had been added on top of a section of the Great Wall in Suizhong County， northeast Chinas Liaoning Province

“With Chinese womens incomes increasing， they are mostly the ones who decide the travel plans for their families.”

Jiang Yiyi， a senior researcher at the China Tourism Academy， speaking about her institutions latest report released in September， which found that women accounted for 61.4 percent of the outbound tourists in 2015 who were surveyed

“People dont want to live in areas with inconvenient access to basic public services.”

Feng Kui， a researcher with the National Reform and Development Commission， explaining why younger generations opt to stay in overcrowded large cities despite rising traffic congestion and air pollution

“Green bonds， in particular， stand as the key to mobilizing private capital for environmental needs.”

Ma Beijia， equity analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch， in response to central bank data that shows China issued 75 billion yuan （$11 billion） worth of green bonds—debt instruments exclusively for projects that address environmental issues—in the first half of 2016