CHINESE BASKETBALL ICON MAKES FIBA HALL OF FAME CLASS

　　Nine players and three coaches featured on the list for the FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2021， announced by the world basketball governing body on April 1. Former center of the Chinese women’s team， Zheng Haixia， was one of them. She became the first Chinese player to earn such an accolade.
　　A long-serving member of the Chinese team， Zheng， born in 1967， led it to win Olympic bronze in 1984 and silver in 1992. She also finished third in 1983 and came in second in 1994 at the World Championships.
　　The Chinese Basketball Association on April 2 sent Zheng a congratulatory letter. “Zheng’s achievements in the national team are not only her personal glory， but also the results of the concerted efforts from all members on the team. Their fighting spirit and determination on the court set a good example for young players，” the letter said.
　　Created in 2007， the FIBA Hall of Fame currently features over 110 exceptional players and coaches from 37 countries and regions.

Customized Tour

　　Beijing Youth Daily April 5
　　Customized tours have been gaining more favor with Chinese people. It has become an alternative option， aside from the traditional group or independent tours. Bearing in mind their consumers’specific needs， travel advisors help them design routes and arrange various affairs within their budgets.
　　Thanks to more enterprises operating within the business， residents living in third- and fourth-tier cities can also enjoy the services at lower prices. However， the industry still needs to establish a uniform standard and introduce an evaluation mechanism.
　　Selling personalized services should not become the cradle of legitimate loopholes. Today， the contracts drafted by each individual company reduce the number of clauses clarifying the liabilities of the companies and advisors and shift some of the responsibilities onto the consumers. Additionally， they fail to highlight the risks which are necessary to remind people of before they pay for the products.
　　Hence， authorities such as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the State Administration for Market Regulation should investigate any problems in this regard and draw up a standard model for tour agencies to follow.

To Have More Children

　　Oriental Outlook April 1
　　China’s population policy has been changing with time and demands. Since 2013， having two children is encouraged. 　　Today， besides the financial burden， how to further your career is a major worry for many， especially women， when coming face to face with the topic of having more children. They must try hard to maintain the balance between family and work in their 30s and 40s， critical periods for both individual development and fertility.
　　According to a report released by 51job.com， a leading human resource service provider， 55.2 percent of unmarried women said getting married or having a baby would affect their career advancement， while 41.4 percent of married women held the same opinion.
　　To relieve the burden of the women’s role， paternity leave was one of the key topics during this year’s Two Sessions—the annual sessions of the National People’s Congress （NPC） and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference（CPPCC）. Additionally， several NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members also suggested creating a better social environment for couples having children in terms of taxation， education， medical care， and employment.
　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan（2021-25） period， China will transition to a moderately aging society， seeing a greater decline in labor supply. Borrowing from the experience of developed countries， the nation’s current low fertility rate should be dealt with as soon as possible.

Building Smoke-Free Cities

　　Guancha.gmw.cn April 2
　　On March 31， a woman trying to persuade a man not to smoke at a restaurant in Chengdu， capital of Sichuan Province， sparked a heated debate on social media platforms. The man did not accept her appeal and instead replied by spilling an unknown liquid onto her. With the mediation of the police， he apologized and paid 1，000 yuan （$152.8） for her dry cleaning.
　　Responding to the issue， the Chinese Association of Tobacco Control gave the woman a thumbs-up on a social media platform and said that secondhand smoke contains at least 69 carcinogens.
　　By February， over 20 cities in China， including Beijing， Shenzhen， and Qingdao， had banned smoking indoors and some outdoor places under local laws. Although Chengdu had issued a draft on smoking control in public places in 2019， this has not yet been formally introduced.
　　In addition to speeding up the legislation， there should be other supplementary measures in place. For instance， passengers who smoke on high-speed trains or in smoke-free zones of other trains will be barred from train travel for a consecutive 180 days.

THE WORLD’S NEW HIGHEST-GROSSING FEMALE DIRECTOR

　　China’s Spring Festival blockbuster Hi， Mom at a staggering box-office sum of 5.39 billion yuan （$823 million） beat the 2017 American superhero film Wonder Woman on April 6 and made Chinese film director Jia Ling overtake Patty Jenkins to be the world’s highest-grossing female director for a single film.
　　Jia， 39， whose full name is Jia Yuling， graduated from the Beijing-based Central Academy of Drama and started her showbiz career as a crosstalk comedian. She rose to fame after appearing at the 2010 Spring Festival Gala.
　　Jia went on to star in numerous comedies， TV shows as well as on the big screen， cementing her status as one of China’s top female comedians. In 2016， she set up Big Bowl Entertainment， and the production company’s first work was the short play Hi Mom in memory of her mother， from which her movie was adapted.
　　Hi， Mom is Jia’s maiden directorial project.
　　“As the demand for Chinese vaccines grows， it means that the international community has a positive evaluation of the high level and safety of Chinese vaccines.”
　　Seymur Mammadov， Director of the international expert club EurAsiaAz， in an article on the China Daily website on April 3
　　“Clearly， ASEAN won’t involve itself in any geopolitical games and the ASEAN mechanism can’t be downplayed. With or without the U.S.， China-ASEAN momentum will grow in view of the fast trade volume growth last year in spite of the epidemic.”
　　Xu Liping， Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing， in an interview with Global Times on April 5
　　“Being open will be essential for economies to recover from this crisis（COVID-19 pandemic） and a rapid， global and equitable vaccine roll-out is a prerequisite for the strong and sustained recovery we all need.”
　　Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala， Director General of the World Trade Organization， during a press conference on global trade recovery on March 31
　　“The AfCFTA provides the right framework for us to continue that collaboration with China. With the establishment of the framework， Africa has overcome the market fragmentation that was there before.”
　　Wamkele Mene， Secretary General of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area （AfCFTA） agreement， in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on April 1