UN PEACEKEEPING MISSION COMMANDER

Major General Wang Xiaojun was appointed on December 8 as commander of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara （MINURSO）， becoming the third Chinese commander of a UN peacekeeping mission to date. MINURSO was established in 1991 by the UN Security Council in a bid to monitor the ceasefire and organize a referendum in Western Sahara， a territory on the northwest coast of Africa.

Wang has 40 years of national and international military experience， having served as defense attaché at the Chinese embassies in Brazil， India， Sweden and the United States between 2006 and 2016. He also served as a UN sector commander in MINURSO from 2003 to 2004 and was a UN military observer in Kuwait from 1992 to 1993.

Wang， 57， holds a masters degree in military administration and a bachelors degree in command and signals technology.

Health Risks of Running Marathons

Beijing Youth Daily December 12

Two runners died at the Xiamen International Half-Marathon on December 10. One runner fell down and suffered sudden heart failure 4.5 km before the finish line， and another collapsed after finishing the race.

In addition to sudden deaths， marathons can also lead to various adverse health conditions， such as cardiovascular disease and irreversible injuries to joints and tendons， thereby affecting quality of life and shortening life expectancy. Marathons—feats of heroic athleticism that test the human body， mind and soul to their limits—actually harm rather than benefit health.

Although the World Health Organization recommends sports as an important means of preventing all kinds of chronic disease and advises adults to do a minimum of 150 minutesexercise per week， it has never recommended or even mentioned marathon running.

Marathon competitions have recently flourished in China， shooting up from 22 in 2011 to 282 this year， driven by such eventspotential to generate huge profits and increase host cities popularity. Participation is becoming fashionable， since it is regarded as indicating a comparatively high quality of life. Few people， however， are aware of the health risks it poses.

Supportive Policies Needed for Second Child Births

Oriental Outlook December 15

The impact on the birth rate of the two-child policy， which took effect on January 1， 2016， and allows all couples in China to have two children， matches expectations on the whole， according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission. The policy was introduced to tackle the problems and complications of an aging society. In the 1970s， China adopted a family-planning policy that restricted most urban couples to one child and most rural couples to two children， if the first child born was a girl. While succeeding in curbing population growth， the policy was blamed for a number of social problems， such as a decreasing labor force. It was later relaxed to allow parents to have a second child if they were both only children. It was further eased in 2013 when a decision was made to allow couples to have two children if one of them was an only child.

From January to September 2016， second child births in some provinces accounted for over 50 percent of all births. For instance， of the 1.168 million newborn babies in Shandong Province in the first nine months， 61.2 percent were second children. The proportion has also significantly increased in other provinces. Before the new policy was implemented， second child births accounted for a much lower proportion of newborns nationwide.

The implementation of the policy， however， has met a number of obstacles. In some cases， female teachers have to wait in turn to get pregnant so that their school doesnt become short of staff. Lack of pre-school services， especially centers caring for babies below kindergarten age， also discourages people from having a second child.

Experts suggest that the government adopt more supportive policies to ease the burden on parents choosing to have a second baby.

Making Air Travel More Convenient

Peoples Daily December 13

The Civil Aviation Administration of China （CAAC） is in the process of rolling out two measures aimed at reducing flight delays： a guideline on reforming air traffic control， passed in November 2016， and a regulation on flight management due to be adopted in January 2017.

The growing demand for travel has led to a dramatic increase in the number of flights. Without reform of the air traffic control system， congestion along air routes will adversely affect passengersjourneys.

Information transparency is also needed. Lack of information disclosure when flights are delayed often causes frustration among passengers， which can boil over into verbal arguments and even scuffles between passengers and airport staff. Airlines should improve transparency by actively communicating with the public in order to improve their image.

The modernization of air traffic control is a significant measure of a nations development level. In addition to improving air traffic efficiency by reforming the current control system， China should also more flexibly utilize its air space by merging civil and military aviation in order to satisfy both commercial demands and national defense needs.

AWARD-WINNING LEUKEMIA EXPERT

Chen Zhu， former Health Minister and a professor at the Shanghai Institute of Hematology， has been jointly awarded the 2016 Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize together with French professor Hugues de Thé for their research advances in increasing the chances of survival for leukemia patients by the American Society of Hematology （ASH）.

The recipients delivered their lecture on December 5 in San Diego. The award， named after former ASH President Ernest Beutler， honors two scientists who have achieved breakthroughs related to a single topic. Chen has made a seminal contribution to his field by developing a novel targeted treatment strategy that can cure a previously highly fatal form of leukemia.

Chen served as head of the Shanghai Institute of Hematology and vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences before becoming minster of health in 2007. He is chairman of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party， one of Chinas eight non-Communist parties.

“Traditional family values have been engraved on the minds and melted into the blood of the Chinese people.”

President Xi Jinping， stressing family virtues and civility when meeting with attendees of a Beijing conference honoring model families across the nation on December 12

“The initiative has the long-term effect of promoting the interests of both Africans and Chinese in investments and political relations.”

Macharia Munene， a Nairobi-based foreign relations scholar， commenting on the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative， under which major infrastructure projects such as railways and seaports are unfolding in Africa

“The government should tread cautiously between securing stable economic growth and promoting reform in 2017. Reform should be focused on state-owned enterprises and the overhaul of sectors that have lost their competitiveness.”

Huang Yiping， Vice President of the National School of Development at Peking University， speaking about Chinas economic prospects recently

“When it comes to energy， people say you cannot make money and protect the environment while reaping benefits. But we know we can， and we will.”

Jack Ma， founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba， commenting on the newly established Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Ma is one of 20 global business and technology luminaries who have agreed to invest $1 billion in the fund， designed to invest in startups that produce emission-free energy