FEMALE DIVER OF THE YEAR

Shi Tingmao was named the Female Diver of the Year 2017 at the FINA （International Swimming Federation） World Aquatics Gala in Sanya， south Chinas Hainan Province， on December 2.

Shi was awarded the title by FINA for her unbeaten record this year. She won the 3-meter springboard and 3-meter synchronized springboard titles at the FINA World Championships in Budapest this summer. This is the third consecutive year Shi has been named best female diver of the year.

Shi， 26， joined the Chinese diving team in 2012. She has won many gold medals at world championships and the Rio Olympic Games.

The annual FINA World Aquatics Gala was created in 2014. At this years awards ceremony， Chinese swimming stars Sun Yang， Liu Xiang and Fu Yuanhui also received honors for their outstanding performances and contributions to swimming.

The Lost City Wall Bricks

Guangming Daily November 30

Nanjing， capital city of east Chinas Jiangsu Province， has reclaimed 80，000 bricks from the citys 600-year-old wall which were scattered elsewhere around the city. The retrieval is the result of an initiative launched by local heritage protection authorities to retrace the lost bricks. Residents who provide valuable clues to their whereabouts are rewarded up to 2，000 yuan（$302）.

The construction of the wall began in 1366， and some 25 km of it remain today. It is the largest and best-preserved historical city wall in the world. Over the past decades， a lot of the walls bricks had been used to build houses by local residents. In recent years， some bricks have been rediscovered when some old buildings were dismantled during development of new communities and real estate. But the lost old bricks were mostly abandoned as construction waste. Thus， retracing them is tantamount to an emergency rescue operation.

The results of the initiative exceeded expectations. The discovery of such a signifi cant number of bricks makes restoring additional parts of the wall easier. Meanwhile， the initiative has raised public awareness of heritage protection as more people are inspired to search for the bricks.

There is no lack of examples where old and ancient city walls have been pulled down and replicas of ancient architecture is used for the “restoration.” Nanjings practice strikes a stark contrast to what was and still is being practiced in some other places. Its wiser to retrace and protect original historical relics than to spend a huge amount of money on building replicas. This should become a consensus when it comes to cultural relics protection.endprint

Face Is All

Oriental Outlook December 7

Biometric authentication is no longer a dazzling hi-tech invention that only appears in science fi ction or spy fi lms. It is now used as a form of identifi cation and access control in ordinary life.

Since September， customers of a particular fast food restaurant in Hangzhou City dont need to take out their credit card or cash when paying the bill. An Alipaylinked face recognition system enables customers to complete payment swiftly and conveniently simply by looking into a camera. Meanwhile， face recognition has also become a feature function of the latest smart phones.

Biometric identifiers， including fingerprints， irises and faces， are distinctive and measurable data sources for labeling and describing individuals. Like many nations， China attaches importance to the establishment of a biometric database for its national ID system， which provides a strong policy incentive for research and development of biometric technologies. In spite of its slightly late start， China has made great strides in biometric technology， thanks to the rapid growth of its IT industry in recent years. In particular， China has made significant breakthroughs in developing key algorithms and databases as well as in modeling.

With such technological advantages， Chinese companies have secured their position in the global market for biometric authentication. For example， Beijing-based EyeSmart Technology Ltd. has become the biometric technology provider for Indias national ID program.

Biometric technologies are now widely used in many fields， from security to telecommunications， payments and retailing. According to a market report published by the Prospect Industries Research Institute， the market size for biometric authentication in China is expected to reach 30 billion yuan （$4.53 billion） by 2020.

But technical questions remain over the use of biometric authentication in terms of the technologys reliability and convenience. Furthermore， the collection of biometric identity data raises privacy concerns about the safety of this information.

Fresh Blood of Academicians

Guangzhou Daily November 28

The Chinese Academy of Engineering （CAE） has completed its selection of new academicians for 2017， among which are 18 foreigners including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Gates is also founder and chairman of TerraPower， a leading nuclear innovation company.

Every other year， CAE， Chinas top engineering technology institution， adds new names to its roster. The selection is undoubtedly seen as a weather vane in Chinas engineering science and technology community. There are two striking points of the standards in this years selection process. First is the overriding focus on candidates academic styles and moral integrity. Second is that the proportions of frontline engineers and experts， as well as those from remote inland regions， have increased.endprint

This year saw CAE add the biggest number of foreign academicians. According to CAE rules， these foreigners must have achieved a high technological and engineering level， enjoy a good reputation in the world and have made a great contribution to Chinas engineering science and technology progress.

The expansion of the foreign academician camp in CAE will undoubtedly help push forward Chinas exchanges and cooperation with the rest of the world in terms of engineering science and technology. Particularly， the joining of luminaries like Gates will encourage more foreign experts to participate in Chinas engineering science and technology research.

Scientists and technologists are crucial for a countrys progress and prosperity. Globalization makes academic exchange more frequent， and national borders are nonexistent for science and technology. Therefore， a more open and inclusive talent policy will greatly help improve Chinas competitiveness in the global arena.

ENTREPRENEUR AWARDED FOR AFFORESTATION

Wang Wenbiao， 61， Chairman of Elion Resources Group， received the United Nations highest environmental honor， the Champions of the Earth award， in the category of “Lifetime Achievement” during the third UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi， Kenya， on December 5. Wang is the fi rst individual Chinese entrepreneur to win the UNs top environmental honor.

Well known in China as the “Son of the Desert，” Wang started in 1989 his afforestation efforts in the Kubuqi Desert， which covers around 18，600 square km in north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Today， around two thirds of the desert has been greened， and local communities have better employment opportunities and a more pleasant environment. Elion Resources Group has become Chinas largest private， green industry enterprise， with total assets of over $1.6 billion.

Other Chinese recipients of the UN environmental honor during the assembly were the bike-sharing startup Mobike and the Saihanba Afforestation Community of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， both lauded for actions that have a signifi cant positive impact on the environment.

“This year marks the 38th year of the sister-state relationship with Guangdong Province and this agreement once again shows just how important Guangdong is to our state.”

Gladys Berejiklian， Premier of the Australian state of New South Wales， speaking during a visit to China

“A major feature of this voyage is that we will step up environmental monitoring in our scientific expedition and place more attention on the health of the ocean.”

tao Chunhui， chief scientist of the 49th ocean expedition of Chinese research ship Xiangyanghong 10， speaking to Xinhua News Agency as the ship set sail on December 6

“Dark Matter Particle Explorer has opened a new window to observe the high-energy universe， showing new physical phenomena beyond our current understanding.”

Chang Jin， Deputy Director of the Purple Mountain Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences， speaking at a report meeting in Nanjing on November 30

“We want to do better in Tokyo compared to our results at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio in terms of gold medals， total medals， top eight finishers and the number of events we competed in.”

Yu Hongchen， Vice President of the Chinese Athletics Association， speaking in Quanzhou during the 2017 Chinese Athletics National Conference on December 6endprint