NEW SPOKESPERSON FOR TAIWAN AFFAIRS

　　Zhu Fenglian， the new spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Offi ce， made her fi rst public appearance at a press conference on November 27.
　　She greeted journalists in Mandarin as well as the Hokkien and Hakka dialects， all three of which are spoken in Taiwan.
　　Born in November 1977 in Guangdong Province of south China， Zhu is the seventh spokesperson for the office since it started holding press conferences in 2000 to brief the media on the Chinese mainland’s policies and stance on Taiwan affairs.
　　She has two master’s degrees in literature and public administration and joined the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office in 2003.

Time Banks for Senior Care

　　Beijing Youth Daily November 21
　　When a couple in their 70s in Nanjing， Jiangsu Province in east China， ordered food from a service center， a young man volunteered to deliver the food to their home. For the volunteer， the act is more than a charitable service.
　　For the half hour he spent on the delivery， he will have the same time credited to him. When he grows old and needs service， he can claim it for free. This is a new model of elderly care called time banking.
　　In Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province in east China， a senior care home has also come up with another new model. Young people can live in the home paying a low rent of 300 yuan（$42.7） per month provided they give at least 20 hours of service every month. The services include teaching the residents to use smartphones， watching TV with them or teaching them to paint， sing or dance.
　　Volunteer services that are mutually benefi cial have become an important part of public senior care services under such models， lessening the pressure on the government to some extent.
　　Aging is becoming an increasingly serious problem in China. By the end of 2018， the number of people above 60 was 249 million， or 17.9 percent of the population. The cost of providing for the elderly is also increasing and there is a shortage of people working in the senior care sector. Volunteer services have therefore become an important solution to the elderly care problem.

Shrinking Cities

　　Oriental Outlook November 28
　　As China urbanizes， most cities are expanding but some have started to shrink due to population loss caused by exhaustion of resources and failure to transform their industries.
　　Although there are many criteria for identifying shrinking cities， including economic recession， population loss is considered the primary yardstick. 　　Shrinking cities represent the other side of the coin of urbanization. In the scramble for talent， big cities are drawing out talent from small and mediumsized cities. This redistribution of talent is a common phenomenon worldwide.
　　Li Ran， a PhD candidate， finds the number of people in his home city in Heilongjiang Province in northeast China increasingly dwindling. Of his 50 high school classmates， only 15 remain in the city.
　　The area used to have rich forest and mineral resources but since the 1990s， the resources have gradually decreased and the city failed to transform and upgrade its industries. As a result， many local people have left.
　　According to Wu Kang， an associate professor at the Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing， most shrinking cities are located in the northeast， coastal areas in the southeast and border areas.
　　In April， the National Development and Reform Commission announced the key tasks for a new type of urbanization in 2019.Shrinking cities should overhaul their housing market， reuse abandoned spaces and improve their ecology.
　　They should also reposition themselves and develop competitive industries with local characteristics. In addition， they need to coordinate their development with central cities in regional clusters. Central cities， for their part， should plan their development in tandem with the needs of smaller cities and the whole urban clusters they are part of.

Better Connectivity

　　People’s Daily November 24
　　The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge， the longest sea bridge in the world connecting Hong Kong， Macao and Zhuhai in Guangdong Province in south China to accelerate regional integration and development， has been in operation for over a year.
　　The bridge cuts transportation time between the three localities to an hour， adding convenience to speed for transportation of people and goods. Over 24 million tourists and 1.5 million vehicles have used it.
　　The travel time between Zhuhai and Hong Kong has been shortened to a little over half an hour. Zhuhai， with its labor， warehousing and logistics advantages， plays an important role in cross-border e-commerce and international trade and logistics. For Hong Kong and Macao， the bridge enables them to connect with other cities in the Greater Bay Area， a megalopolis consisting of Hong Kong， Macao and nine cities in Guangdong.
　　It is a new channel for Hong Kong to connect with the mainland， which will consolidate the special administrative region’s key position in international fi nance， shipping and trade. The bridge has also expanded the market for Macao’s tourism and conference and exhibition industry， which will help diversify its economy.

MAJOR GENERAL ACADEMICIAN

　　Li Xianyu， the first woman major general of the People’s Liberation Army （PLA） Rocket Force， was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering on November 22. Seventy-four Chinese people and 29 foreigners were also elected.
　　Li， director of a research center of the PLA Rocket Force’s equipment institute， was promoted to major general in 2015.
　　She was born in Heilongjiang Province， northeast China， in April 1965. After graduating from Peking University with a master’s degree in radio physics in the early 1990s， she joined the PLA Second Artillery Corps. She has also been involved in research and development of the missile corps’ command information system.
　　Li was a deputy to the Ninth and 12th National People’s Congress， China’s top legislature， and in 2018 became a member of the National Committee of the 13th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference， the top political advisory body.
　　“The Belt and Road Initiative is quite transformational and welcomed in Europe because European countries need a lot of infrastructure， so it is very important to seize the growth opportunities.”
　　Sergio Ermotti， group chief executive of Swiss banking giant UBS， at the New Economy Forum in Beijing on November 21
　　“When more individuals， merchants and governments embrace the power of the Internet， big data and cloud computing and understand the way of thinking in the digital age， they will not only change themselves with their creativity but also boost the industrial transformation of the retail， wholesale， finance， manufacturing， service and other sectors.”
　　Wen Jia， partner of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group， in a recent interview on November 25
　　“The Chinese New Year usually increases sales because Chinese people like to gift cherries， whose ruby red color conveys good luck and prosperity， to friends and family .”
　　Ronald Bown， President of the Chilean Fruit Export Association， in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on November 26. Chile is forecasting record cherry exports of 210，000 tons for the 2019-20 season， up 16 percent compared to last season
　　“Women in China are undergoing a process of self-awakening. They should know that if one woman stands up to tell her story， it saves far more women than herself.”
　　Chinese actress Hai Qing， who is the UN Women goodwill ambassador for China， at the launch of the UN Women’s 16-day event for prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls in Beijing on November 27