Biosecurity： No Longer a Minor Aspect of National Security

World Affairs

Issue 10， 2020

Biosecurity， including prevention and control of major infectious diseases， has been one of the basic factors determining the historical process and the development of civilization. The COVID-19 pandemic， which is rampaging around the world， has catapulted the concept of biosecurity into public notice in an unprecedented manner.

In 2020， the COVID-19 outbreak rendered biosecurity an issue of major concern， and one also related to national security and of strategic importance.

Over the last few years， biotechnology has gradually assumed immense importance and evolved into an issue of strategic rivalry among major countries. Against the backdrop of severe deficiency of global biotechnology governance， advancement of biotechnology may be in danger of becoming an out of control issue， exerting a significant and profound impact on relevant countries and even the entirety of humankind. As a core component of the new round of scientific and technological revolution， biotechnology is of great significance to the current and future rivalry between countries. Therefore， the importance of biosecurity must be viewed from the perspective of national security.

It is necessary for all countries to adopt comprehensive and coordinated plans at the national level， strengthen biosecurity governance， and establish the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind at the international level.

China in the Live Studio

Global People

Issue 11， 2020

What is the new， novel way for online shoppers during the “6.18”shopping spree （a mid-year shopping campaign started by JD.com， an e-commerce giant in China）？ The answer is： promotion of products via live broadcast. It has also become one of the hot topics discussed at this years sessions of national legislators and political advisers held in May. It has even been incorporated into certain local governments work reports.

According to the Ministry of Commerce， live e-commerce streams have exceeded four million during the first quarter of 2020. Compared with the traditional off-line economy， live streaming demonstrates superior ways of marketing products.

The new media center of the Peoples Daily launched a public welfare live broadcast titled “Placing an order for Hubei，” attracting over 100 million views， and resulting in nearly three million transactions， worth more than RMB 250 million.

Hundreds of governors， mayors， and county heads also visited the livestream studios to advertise local products.

Yu Feng， general manager of Taobaos e-commerce business department， said that todays live streaming promotion of products defies simple categorization with words like net celebrity and network flow. This is a complete industrial chain including factories， enterprises， bases， logistics， platforms， Multi-Channel Network（MCN） institutions， and hosts， covering primary industry， secondary industry， and the tertiary industry.

Poverty Alleviation Efforts in Contiguous Poverty-stricken Areas

Outlook

Issue 23， 2020

Unfolding the map of China， 14 contiguous poverty-stricken areas with special difficulties can be spotted where the last remnants of destitution and poverty still linger.

Since 2012， the central government has implemented the strategy of targeted poverty alleviation， decreasing the number of poor people in China from 98.99 million at the end of 2012 to 5.51 million at the end of 2019， the incidence of poverty reducing from 10.2 percent to 0.6 percent.

Most of the contiguous povertystricken areas are crippled by ecological fragility， prone to frequent natural disasters， and hindered by lack of resources. It therefore requires simultaneous actions on both the fronts of poverty alleviation and ecological protection.

Since the targeted poverty alleviation initiative was launched in 2012， a raft of measure have been rolled out， including targeted assistive measures， relocation of the poor， poverty alleviation by developing industries， transfer of employment， and poverty alleviation through ecological protection. In the meantime， particular attention has been paid to helping people increase confidence in their own ability to lift themselves out of poverty and see that they can access the education they need to do so. All this has brought about transformative change in the prospects of the aforementioned poverty stricken areas.

Changes Generated by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Peoples Tribune

Issue 15， 2020

COVID-19s envelopment of the globe has infected over eight million people and is responsible for the deaths of over 438，000 as of mid-June. With no sudden end in sight， its subsequent impact on the political， economic， and societal realms of all countries， and impacts on the thinking， production and lifestyle of the wider public are manifesting in various ways.

The pandemic disrupted normal economic activities in the world， resulting in chaos and stagnation of life with limited flow of people， logistics， and capital， and blocked operations of industrial and supply chains. With their production and operations coming to a grinding halt， many industries have fallen into crisis. In efforts to keep things running during the onslaught of the pandemic， people began to adopt new approaches to production， manufacturing， and trading， ushering in industrial transformation and a heavy push towards a “contactless” economy. Online learning， working from home， and online transactions have become normalized； emerging industries like intelligent manufacturing， unmanned distribution， online consumption， and medical and health services are exhibiting strong growth potential； and crossborder data flow is displaying explosive growth.

The use of big data technology has contributed greatly to bringing the epidemic under control， material allocation， subsistence security， and grassroots governance. Modern information technology has not only improved the convenience， accuracy， and timeliness of public services， but has also become a part of peoples daily life， work， and learning， shaping a new way of communication and interaction integrating online and offline activities.