Day: September 16, 2023

China should take action to reduce the potential impact of hot weather on suicide rates and protect people’s mental health as global temperatures continue to rise, according to researchers. The measures could include early intervention, education, social support, meteorological warnings and long-term climate adaptation strategies, the researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai said. The suggestions follow a study the academics conducted into the relationship between rising temperatures and suicide rates in China. The results showed that rising temperatures were linked to increasing death risks. In an interview with the South…

MR, which allows users to interact with both physical and digital objects at the same time, makes up a group of technologies known as XR, along with VR and augmented reality. Initial demonstrations of Apple’s Vision Pro impressed many industry players, including some in China, and inspired renewed enthusiasm in the field. Denny Zhou Qinghui, founder and chairman of GDI. Photo: Handout GDI, established in 2007, claims to be one of the earliest VR companies in China. Headquartered in Shanghai’s Songjiang district, the business currently has over 200 employees, focusing…

With 28 million Chinese set to retire this year, the nation needs a more flexible employment system that better utilises older people in society, including by allowing retirees to contribute in high-demand fields such as medicine and education, according to a Beijing policy adviser. The massive number of retirees – which could peak this year, as 1963 saw the most births in China’s history – is putting a heavy strain on the nation’s pension scheme and elderly-care infrastructure, adding to the economic pressure that an ageing society has on the…

Rent-seeking became rampant, as pharmaceutical sales teams offered generous kickbacks to doctors and hospital administrators, who in turn spent lavishly on expensive drugs and equipment. Bribes – often in millions of yuan – were disguised as academic conference sponsorship or lecture fees, as well as extravagant junkets. Done right, China’s healthcare reforms could boost the economy and more The Sanming model aimed to remove the cancers in the system. It implemented centralised procurement, set bulk purchases of drugs at fixed prices, introduced pay ceilings for doctors and linked the salaries…

Following this year’s inaugural China-Central Asia Summit and 10 years of the Belt and Road Initiative, is China replacing Russian influence in Central Asia? Kazakhstan confounds the narrative. As a middle power in a dangerous neighbourhood, Kazakhstan might be expected to be under the influence of China, its much more populous neighbour. Kazakhs have long feared a Chinese invasion, or at the least a slow colonisation. A closer examination suggests Kazakhstan is taking advantage of its strategic location to diversify its partners and pursue its national interests. It could yield…