Homie Weekly | News Update For This Week (Dec 3, 2021)

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Company

01

No return for products sold in retail stores

 in Chinese mainland: Canada Goose's 

reported policy draws anger online

Canadian retailer Canada Goose ignited public anger in China again over its reported policy of no returns for products sold in stores in the Chinese mainland.

Chinese netizens have strongly condemned the company, saying the reported policy "discriminates" the Chinese market and consumers, and also called for an immediate boycott against the winterwear maker.

The rising sentiment came after media reported that a Chinese costumer, who bought a down jacket at a Canada Goose store in Shanghai on October 27, claimed she could not return the jacket after finding the logo was wrongly embroidered.

The costumer was asked to sign a product exchange waiver when she bought the jacket. The waiver states that, unless otherwise stipulated by relevant laws, all products sold in Canada Goose retail stores in the Chinese mainland cannot be returned.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202112/1240349.shtml

COVID-19

02

China pushing development of vaccine 

against Omicron

China is rapidly advancing development of COVID-19 vaccines targeting the Omicron variant, a health official said during an interview with China Central Television on Thursday.

Zheng Zhongwei, a National Health Commission official who heads China's COVID-19 vaccine development task force, said preliminary analysis suggests that the new strain is more transmissible than the Delta variant, but it is too early to determine if the Omicron variant would diminish the efficacy of existing vaccines.

"We think the majority of vaccines remain effective," he said. "Despite the possibility of some degree of immunity escape, our initial finding is that they still have marked effects on preventing severe diseases and deaths."

As a precautionary measure, domestic vaccine developers have begun research into doses tailored to tackle various new strains.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202112/02/WS61a8a2d5a310cdd39bc78feb.html

Society

03

 National civil service job seekers reach 

record high of 2 million

China's annual national civil service exam kicked off on Sunday with a record-breaking registration of 2.1 million people seeking to become civil servants.

With a planned recruitment of 31,200 public servants, there are 68 people on average competing for one position in the exam. A postal service position in Ngari prefecture, Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, has attracted nearly 20,000 examinees by the deadline of the registration.

Since 2009, the number of enrollments has exceeded 1 million. But this year it has surpassed 200 million for the first time.

The great zeal resulted from the bright career prospect of public servants and the openness, fairness and accountability of the selection process, said Qian Yuying, a professor of Department of Politics and Public Management, Soochow University.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202111/1240086.shtml

04

Beijing to standardize foreign-language signs 

in public places

Beijing has recently issued a regulation that requires the setup of standardized Chinese and foreign-language signs in five categories of public venues, said the foreign affairs office of the municipal government.

The regulation is aimed at elevating Beijing's international service level, improving its function as an international exchange center, and promoting the high-level opening up and high-quality development of the capital city.

The five categories include public transport venues such as airports and railway stations; venues for large-scale international events like sports, conferences, and expos; communities with a mass of foreigners; emergency shelters; and other significant public venues of culture, tourism, and sports.

The regulation will take effect starting Jan 1, 2022.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202111/27/WS61a22a57a310cdd39bc77eb4.html

05

China to issue digital driver's licenses 

nationwide

China will roll out digital driver's licenses across the country from Dec 10 amid efforts to streamline services for the convenience of the public, the Ministry of Public Security announced on Thursday.

Digital driver's licenses have been issued in 200 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, in the country, figures from the ministry showed.

More than 50 million drivers have obtained their digital licenses since a pilot program was launched in the cities of Tianjin, Chengdu and Suzhou on June 1.

The digital driver's licenses are issued via an official traffic management mobile app and have the same legal effect as paper ones.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202112/02/WS61a8675fa310cdd39bc78f48.html

06

Middle-aged bachelor goes viral for 

recording rural life, ‘best example of lying flat’

A mysterious middle-aged bachelor has gone viral on social media for recording his rural life in Northeast China. He has been bestowed as the "best example of lying flat" by youngsters in big cities.

The man using the name "Classmate Zhang" has posted 39 videos on the short-video platform Douyin, most of which display his single and mundane daily life such as feeding chickens and dogs, brushing teeth, or simply walking around the market.

Many netizens are impressed by his professional editing skills and the unpretentious rural life that he displays, enabling the influencer to attract over 20 million likes with 7 million followers within a month.

"As the representative of lying flat, he has done many things that young people working under high pressure in cities would not dare to do," commented one.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202111/1240303.shtml

Law

07

 China amends tobacco monopoly law to 

regulate e-cigarettes

China has added e-cigarettes to its newly announced tobacco monopoly law, which indicates that the billion yuan market has been placed under government management like other tobacco types.

It should be a signal that e-cigarettes, which have stood in a grey area of government regulation for a long time, are finally moved under supervision in China.

This should exert a large and somewhat complicated impact on China's e-cigarette market, which amounted to about 8.38 billion yuan in 2020.

Upon news of the amendment, Chinese e-vapor brand RELX Technology saw its share once slump by more than 15 percent to $4.55 on the US stock markets in premarket trading.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202111/1240033.shtml

Innovation

08

China approves first doctoral degree program 

in quantum science

The University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) said it had been authorized to award doctorates in quantum science and technology, the country's first doctoral program in this field.

The move is expected to promote the development of quantum science and technology disciplines and increase the quality and quantity of innovators in this frontier sector, said the USTC in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province.

In recent years, China has achieved a series of breakthroughs in quantum technology, including the world's first quantum satellite, a 2,000-km quantum communication line between Beijing and Shanghai, and the world's first optical quantum computing machine prototype.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202111/29/WS61a47441a310cdd39bc781f1.html

09

China to livestream first space class

 from Tiangong space station

China will livestream to the world the first space class from its space station Tiangong in the upcoming days, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced Thursday.

China will launch a space science education brand "Tiangong Class" -- the first of its kind -- to give full play to the Chinese space station, according to the CMSA.

In the "Tiangong Class," Chinese astronauts will become the "teachers in space" and interact with students, especially teenagers.

With the progress of the manned space flight mission, the "Tiangong Class" will introduce a series of classes focusing on the construction of the Chinese space station and its in-orbit operation, the CMSA said.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202112/02/WS61a87771a310cdd39bc78f5f.html

Health

10

More efforts urged to curb HIV/AIDS

While China's HIV/AIDS containment remains stable though challenging, officials and experts have called for intensified efforts to prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS, including raising wider awareness and resorting to early intervention methods for high-risk groups.

The country registered over 1.05 million people living with HIV and 351,000 cumulative deaths by the end of 2020, according to an article published on China CDC Weekly, an academic platform established by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

As the proportion of HIV transmission by injection drug users dropped from 25.2 percent in 2009 to less than 2.5 percent last year, transmissions through heterosexual and homosexual activities both increased.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202112/02/WS61a7ff17a310cdd39bc78c29.html

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