FATHER OF RURAL REFORM DIES

Du Runsheng， a well-known economist and one of Chinas most influential experts on rural issues， passed away in Beijing on October 9 at the age of 102.

Du was born in 1913 in a village in Taigu County， north Chinas Shanxi Province. He worked as a military officer and revolutionary leader in the 1930s and 1940s. After the founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949， Dus work was mainly concerned with rural policy-making.

In the early 1980s， Du played a key role in the establishment and promotion of the “household contract responsibility system，” under which farmland was leased to rural families. Previously， farming was done under state planning with farmers working in production teams.

One of his best-known quotes was： “Chinas biggest problem is the problem of farmers， and the biggest problem for farmers is the issue of land.”

Nanjing Massacre Becomes World Memory

Peoples Daily October 12

On October 9， UNESCO announced that documents related to the Nanjing Massacre had been inscribed on the Memory of the World Register. This is redolent of the fact that the tragedy that befell the city of Nanjing 78 years ago has gained recognition worldwide.

The evaluation criteria for the Memory of the World Register are the authenticity， rarity and universal value of the nominations. The 11 sets of documents submitted on this occasion all met the aforementioned conditions， representing firsthand evidence bearing testimony to wartime atrocities committed by Japanese invaders. Among the documents are films and pictures taken by U.S. priest John Gillespie Magee （1884-1953） using his movie camera.

Nonetheless， the listing of the Nanjing Massacre documents represents belated international acknowledgement， given that the facts of the event were recorded as far back as shortly after World War II at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo， the verdict of which devoted two chapters to the tragedy. The Auschwitz-Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp and the A-Bomb Dome of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial were inscribed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979 and 1996， respectively.

The Japanese Government has tried to hinder the application of the documents， demonstrating its reluctance to face up to history. In sharp contrast， groups of Japanese civilians have participated in memorial services in Nanjing over the past 20 years to express their remorse and contrition.

Parks Lacking Individual Character

Oriental Outlook October 15

Some 150 million visitors spend over 12 billion yuan （$1.9 billion） in Chinas theme parks every year， portending great market potential， according to the Shenzhenbased consulting firm Qianzhan Industry Research Institute.

There are four types of theme parks in China： amusement parks such as Happy Valley， film studios such as Hengdian World Studios in east Chinas Zhejiang Province， sightseeing theme parks such as Window of the World in Shenzhen and parks featuring a specific theme such as ocean parks.

Since the first theme park in the real sense of the phrase， Splendid China Park， was established in Shenzhen in 1989， a glut of similar brands have become popular among the public. Although Chinese theme parks are global leaders in terms of scale and number of visitors， the industry is beset by problems， with about 75 percent of Chinese theme parks struggling to reverse losses.

Compared with their foreign counterparts， which have distinguishing characteristics and amenities， domestic parks are rather similar to one another. Many have been built to drive up the prices of surrounding land and commercial properties.

The construction of theme parks should be more prudent with a view to both environmental protection and economic development. The goal should be providing premium entertainment facilities for tourists and improving peoples quality of life. The government should plan and manage the development of the parks while the parks develop their own distinctive identity.

Supervision Over Poverty Alleviation

The Beijing News October 13

China will work to lift about 70 million people in rural areas out of poverty by the end of 2020， the Central Government announced on October 12.

However， many are questioning whether such an ambitious goal can be achieved as the National Audit Office has recently found out that more than 3，000 well-off residents in impoverished Mashan County， southwest Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， have “mistakenly” qualified as eligible to receive aid from the local poverty alleviation fund.

In the process of implementing poverty alleviation policies， many local governments have made similar errors. For instance， some locales have used their poverty alleviation fund for urban construction. This runs the risk of rendering the Central Governments promises invalid.

So how can the new plan be implemented in a way that prevents misappropriation from thwarting the governments grand designs？ The key lies in inviting supervision from people at the community level. The targets of poverty alleviation policies should be informed of these policies， and records of how poverty alleviation funds have been used should be maintained. On-the-ground feedback should be solicited from people actually living in impoverished areas.

Poverty alleviation funds are not a source of welfare for local governments or special interest groups， but rather a lifeline for people living in genuine deprivation. Information should be made more transparent to the latter to allow them to play their role in supervision.

YOUNG DIRECTOR VYING FOR OSCAR

Movie director Han Yan recently came under the spotlight as his romantic comedy Go Away， Mr. Tumor became the only film representing China to vie for the foreign-language feature award at the 88th Academy Awards next February.

The film was on a list of 81 submissions published by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on its website on October 9. It is about a cartoonist called Xiong Dun who bravely fights against her cancer and lives life to the full before she dies.

The submission of the film has come as a surprise to Han. “There are so many excellent movies. Its extremely lucky of the film to be selected，” he wrote on his Weibo microblogging account.

Han， 32， graduated from the Central Academy of Drama majoring in directing. His first feature film First Time was released in 2012 and Go Away， Mr. Tumor is his second work in this genre.

“The two countries could make full use of their respective advantages， such as Chinas equipment manufacturing and funds， and Britains technology， management and financial services， to explore markets in third-party countries.”

Zhang Ji， Assistant Minister of Commerce， speaking at a press briefing ahead of President Xi Jinpings state visit to Britain from October 19-23， the first by a Chinese president in 10 years

“Over the past 20 years tobacco deaths have been decreasing in Western countries， partly because of price increases. For China， a substantial increase in cigarette prices could save tens of millions of lives.”

Richard Peto， a professor at Britains University of Oxford who co-led a study on smoking in China， speaking about the findings of the study on October 12

“This is a big opportunity for New Zealand， given our major exports are in softer commodities like dairy， beef and lamb， and also for our services companies， whether they be in tourism， technology or business services.”

New Zealands Finance Minister Bill English， applauding the transition of Chinas growth model from an investment-driven one to one driven by consumption and services， in a speech to business leaders in Wellington on October 15

“China will gradually postpone its statutory retirement age， as its workforce retires the earliest in the world.”

Yin Weimin， Minister of Human Resources and Social Security， revealing on October 15 that his ministry is set to publicize a reform plan postponing the retirement age