ACTRESS NAMED UNDP GOODWILL AMBASSADOR

Acclaimed actress and film director Zhao Wei has been appointed the National Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program （UNDP） in China. In her new role， Zhao will focus on raising awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals （SDGs）， in particular highlighting poverty reduction and gender equality.

The SDGs are a set of 17 global goals that the UN adopted in 2015 as part of its 2030 development agenda. “I hope to be able to use this invaluable position to help give people in need， especially women， the opportunity to unleash their own potential and realize their dreams，” said Zhao during her appointment ceremony.

Zhao， 40， has starred in a number of films， winning a series of awards for her performances. Her directorial debut， So Young， was a box office hit in 2013. Zhao has also been committed to public service work， including the establishment of the Zhao Wei Scholarship Fund and the V-Love Foundation for Childhood Leukemia.

Bridging the Cultural Divide

Guangming Daily November 18

Chinese cross-cultural communication has its issues. Take the domestic film industry for example. It generates high box-office revenue in the domestic market. However， when Chinese movies are introduced to foreign countries， they often fail to gain a high market share. Undoubtedly， cultural differences are one of the biggest obstacles for Chinese culture to permeate an international audience.

As China promotes its Belt and Road Initiative， challenges caused by differences in languages， traditions and customs between China and other countries involved have emerged. Unlike economic cooperation， the spread of culture is a process in which a sense of cultural identity is gained among people and by which communities with shared progress are formed. Therefore， it is important to seek common ground among different cultures. Whats more， it is essential to lay a solid foundation for cultural integration by making use of various platforms and channels.

The following four aspects are of pivotal importance： Exchanges among people from different nations are the first step to enhancing mutual cultural understanding. Also， promoting the exchanges and integration of cultural elements， such as religions， social norms and languages， is significant. The third aspect is the participation of cultural enterprises. Trade of cultural products and the hosting of exhibitions can help drive creativity and create a cultural industrial chain. Fourth， the establishment of funds and awards dedicated to stimulating cultural exchanges can make a difference.

Conversation Dilemma

Oriental Outlook November 17

In big cities， an increasing number of young people in their 20s or 30s remain single. One of the reasons for singleness among the youth is that many of them find it difficult to strike up a conversation with others.

Being too busy to talk is one of the problems. Some people have few hobbies and， as a result， they fail to find interesting topics of conversation with the opposite sex. Besides this， some feel afraid that a conversation may expose their shortcomings， some worry about interrupting others， some are too shy to show their talent， and some are too self-centered. Whats more， many of them are raised in one-child families that fail to provide them with sufficient communication skills in society. These young people would rather stay at home surfing the Internet than go out.

Along with Chinas social development， the country has reached the period of transition from an acquaintance society to a stranger society. Under such circumstances， a communication dilemma， which is exemplified by an unwillingness to communicate， has become a by-product of social progress.

Recently， dating software has seemed to provide a solution to the predicament. People have great freedom to express themselves and create a new image through online communication. However， things change when Internet friends meet in real life. While people feel freer in Web communication， they must take responsibility when they meet offline. This creates concern over whether dating software can help young people overcome communication difficulties.

Academic Integrity

Peoples Daily November 21

Problems of academic integrity in China have existed and remained unsolved for a long time. These problems include forging data and results， faking the research process， and plagiarism. Recently， the situation has caught widespread attention following exposure by academic organization BioMed Central from the UK and academic supervision website Plagiarism Watch from the United States. Therefore， there is a pressing need to address the issue seriously.

Serious problems of academic integrity are not without sophisticated reasons. Apart from the phenomenon that a researchers performance is often judged merely by the number of papers he or she has published， there are other crucial reasons. For instance， academic integrity policies are too weak to offer effective solutions. Documents are too general to provide specific regulations and credible punishment measures. Besides， councils and offices dealing with academic integrity problems lack sufficient human resources. They often keep the solutions on paper instead of taking action.

In order to curb such problems， tougher measures should be taken. Independent supervision agencies should be established to oversee academic conduct. Specific regulations defining misconduct， detecting problems and punishing irregular behaviors should be provided. With concerns that academic misconduct has lowered academic standards， wasted resources， damaged the research environment and weakened academic credibility， we must act to put an end to it.

TMOST-WANTED FUGITIVE TURNED IN

Yang Xiuzhu， Chinas most-wanted fugitive who fled overseas 13 years ago， returned to Beijing on November 16. Yang， 70， former Deputy Director of the Zhejiang Provincial Construction Bureau， has been accused of embezzling 250 million yuan （$36.3 million）.

Yang fled overseas in 2003 and had been to many countries， including Singapore， France and the United States， to avoid punishment. She was ranked No.1 on Chinas 100 most-wanted fugitive list released by Interpol in April 2015. She is the 37th person on the list to have returned so far.

According to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection （CCDI） of the Communist Party of China， Chinese judicial authorities officially requested their U.S. counterparts to send her back and offered evidence including proof of embezzlement and cross-border money laundering. Yang was then detained in the United States.

The two countries also set up a joint investigation team to handle Yangs case， and her illicit assets were frozen and confiscated， the CCDI said.

“The industrial clusters along the Yangtze River Economic Belt will help boost Chinas competitiveness in the global market.”

Xu Guangjian， a professor at Renmin University of China， commenting on the Chinese Governments ongoing efforts to develop clusters of emerging industries along the Yangtze River Economic Belt

“China is facing not only the pressure of an aging population， but also a lack of social workers and the facilities needed to take care of elderly people， which is the reason why now we need nursing robots.”

Hu Xingdou， a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology， talking to the Global Times， in response to the use of four robots to help elderly people at a nursing home in Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province

“We will promote further cooperation with Louvre Hotels Group to cover its hotels worldwide in order to provide more convenient and high-quality services to cardholders as well as to bring more customers to the groups hotels.”

Ge Huayong， Chairman of financial service company China UnionPay， on its signing of an agreement with Frances largest hotel group regarding the use of UnionPay cards to facilitate Chinese visitors

“Im fascinated by the fact that China has lifted so many people out of poverty and more women and girls have equal opportunities here. I believe it will continue to work. There is still much work to do.”

Babatunde Osotimehin， Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund， speaking about poverty alleviation in China in a recent interview with Xinhua News Agency