LETTERS

I am a senior technical advisor to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization， which leads international efforts to eradicate hunger and disseminate information to this end. I am also head of the FAOs Dakarbased Resilience Hub， and the FAO Representative in Dakar Senegal. I read the report in your November issue on E-Commerce Poverty Alleviation in Longnan City. Realizing what an effective way this could be of enabling people in certain Asian and African areas to arise from poverty， I immediately shared it with my colleagues at the FAO headquarters in Rome. My mission is to improve economic conditions in rural areas， and I was heartened to read about the changes in Caotan Village in western Chinas Gansu Province. The account of 54-yearold Li Shengrong and college graduate village offi cial Zhang Xuans efforts to open online shops is inspiring. My colleagues and I would like the world to know about Chinas successful experience， and see if it can make a difference to the lives of people in other poverty-stricken areas. I look forward to a time in the not too distant future when more impoverished people can market freerange chickens and eggs via online village shops， and so increase their earnings. Besides， if these sales can be scaled-up， there will doubtless also be a demand in big cities for organic chickens， which would bring mutual benefi ts！

Vincent Martin

Dakar， Senega

I am a native Beijinger born and brought up in the west（or Xicheng district） of this ancient capital and modern city. The picture of Bill Browns smiling face as he stood in front of the Drum Tower in the December issue of your magazine instantly caught my eye. As he said， Beijing is the heart and soul of both old and new China. For overseas and domestic tourists， Beijing is most famous for its diverse iconic sites， such as the Forbidden City， Temple of Heaven， and Tiananmen Square. However， for local residents， the capitals 150 galleries and museums render Beijing a gigantic open-air museum. I am impressed that a Westerner should be so familiar with almost every corner of the city. I totally agree with Bill Brown that Beijings culture， with its long history and endless vitality， always has more to be discovered and never disappoints.

Lü Jing

Beijing， China

I am Senior Manager at a Japanese company in Guangdong Province. As our company has many overseas branches， the internationalization of the RMB is of particular interest to us. As reported in your December issue， Chinas RMB going global has made transactions in RMB far easier， and consequently we all benefi t from the more convenient overseas consumption， shopping， and investment that this enables.

Wang Donghui

Dongguan， China