NEW CFA JUDGE SHOWS TRUST IN HK'S JUDICIARY

A top foreign judge accepting an offer to serve on Hong Kong's highest appellate court showed the international community's trust in the city's judicial system, Hong Kong's leader and a legal expert said on Monday.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Monday accepted the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC) to appoint Lord Patrick Stewart Hodge, deputy president of the UK Supreme Court, as a non-permanent judge from another common law jurisdiction on the Court of Final Appeal (CFA).

This brings the number of the CFA's non-permanent judges from other common law jurisdictions to 14. Every case heard at the court requires the presence of at least one non-permanent judge.

Under Article 90 of the Basic Law, Lam would seek the Legislative Council's endorsement for the appointment when the legislature resumes its meetings on Oct 14.

Lam said the presence of the esteemed non-permanent judges manifests the judicial independence of Hong Kong, helps maintain a high degree of confidence in its legal system and allows Hong Kong to maintain strong links with other common law jurisdictions.

"I have every confidence that these distinguished jurists from overseas with profound judicial experience will continue to be a unique strength of our judicial system," Lam said.

The Court of Final Appeal exercises the power of final adjudication of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under Article 82 of the Basic Law. The article allows the court to invite judges from other common law jurisdictions to sit on it.

The city's judiciary said Hodge's appointment will provide greater flexibility in dealing with the caseload of the Court of Final Appeal. Last month, an Australian judge, Justice James Spigelman, offered Lam his resignation as a non-permanent judge of the court without citing any specific reason.

Ronny Tong Ka-wah, senior counsel and executive councilor, said Hodge's acceptance of the role demonstrated the international recognition of Hong Kong's judicial independence.

He said Hong Kong's judicial system was still respected by the international community and its image remained unaffected by the recent resignation of a non-permanent judge.

Tong said he believed that these overseas judges, with their high reputation and recognition by qualified local legal professionals in the JORC, would bring a wealth of experience, legal spirit and principles in the legal field.

Through interaction with local judges and barristers, a world-class bench could consolidate and improve the judicial exercise in Hong Kong,Tong said.

CHINESE PHONES TOP IN GLOBAL MARKET

Chinese smartphone brands dominated more than half the global mobile phone market in the second quarter despite the double challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and trade uncertainties, according to a new report.

The report, by market consultancy Visual Capitalist, said Chinese smartphone makers held the largest share of the global smartphone market, accounting for over 50 percent of total shipments in the second quarter of the year.

China's Huawei Technologies, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo captured four leading positions among the top six smartphone brands in terms of shipments. Chinese computer maker Lenovo also rose into the top 10.

"Chinese smartphone makers are growing beyond their borders and getting increasingly popular all over the world. That is mainly due to their competitive pricing and attractive product range," said Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Information Consumption Alliance, a telecom industry association.

"Though faced with rising uncertainties brought by the global trade frictions, China is the world's largest production base of mobile phones. No other country can challenge China in offering the most complete industry system in producing a smartphone," he said.

The Visual Capitalist report also noted that Huawei, together with South Korea's Samsung Electronics, led the global market share with both of them commanding 20 percent. US tech giant Apple lagged slightly behind, at 14 percent.

"Huawei was able to attain this feat due to a unique market scenario created since the COVID-19 pandemic. China, Huawei's largest market, is now recovering from the pandemic, compared with other markets like Europe and the United States," said Tarun Pathak, associate director of the Counterpoint Research market consultancy.

Pathak said smartphone shipments in China declined 17 percent year-on-year, a "more modest decline" than the rest of the world, which fell 28 percent year-on-year.

When it comes to application processors, US tech giant Qualcomm shipped over 29 percent of the world supply, followed Chinese chip designer MediaTek, at 26 percent. Notably, HiSilicon, Huawei's semiconductor arm, ranked third, at 16 percent.

An application processor is a key smartphone component that handles everything from graphics processing to powering the phone.

FOOD WASTAGE DOWN DURING 8-DAY HOLIDAY

With more people heeding a national call, curbing food waste and promoting thrift have become increasingly common among Chinese restaurants and diners.

The trend has been especially noticeable during the ongoing eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.

Chinese catering firms have been urged to introduce measures to put an end to food waste while improving the quality of products and providing better service, according to a government action plan.

The plan calls for measures to be integrated into the entire process, from purchasing ingredients, storage and processing, to the serving of food and packaging takeout.

Many companies that took steps in anticipation of increased customer numbers during the holiday−usually a busy period in China for family gatherings, travel and eating out−saw their efforts prove effective.

In a buffet restaurant on Qingnian Road in Beijing's Chaoyang district, ready-to-eat seafood is now put on shelves in smaller dishes. Diners who finish all they take receive a piece of fruit as a gift before leaving the restaurant, manager Zhang Weidong said.

Wang Yajing, deputy manager of the Beijing Hepingmen branch of Quanjude, one of China's best known roast duck chain restaurants, said the branch has recently seen a 40 percent decrease in leftovers because of efforts to curb food waste, which also made garbage storage and sorting easier.

The chain has trained staff to help customers order the right amount of food. It also provides free packaging services so that diners can take away leftovers and gives them badges bearing the words "role models of practicing thrift".

Similar changes are also taking place in Shanghai.

At a recent wedding banquet in the city's Minhang district, fewer dishes were seen on tables and many guests took away leftovers.

Xu Jie, the groom, said the quantity of dishes was decided upon after taking the number of guests into account. Boxes and bags were provided to guests for leftovers.

In Shenzhen, Guangdong province, six KFC outlets recently unveiled a pilot charity program called "Food Bank" that gives unsold food to people in need for free. The food is stored in freezers and put into small bags with labels stating the product name, storage date and processing guidelines.

At the same time, "Clear Your Plate", a national campaign against wasting food, continues to gain steam online.

Social media users, especially the young, have been invited to share photos or videos of empty plates on Sina Weibo, a popular social media platform, after finishing their food.

Media outlets, government agencies, social organizations and internet celebrities have joined the online stream of messages opposing the wasting of food, which has been welcomed by netizens.

POVERTY RELIEF A FRUITFUL PURSUIT FOR VILLAGE IN YUNNAN

Mu Wenjun, a young village cadre on poverty relief for Dulongjiang township's Kongdang village of Southwest China's Yunnan province, said there were more difficulties than he expected when it came to the work in the village.

But he now says, "I feel our work is quite worthwhile". What has contributed to the transformation?

Mu became deputy director of Kongdang in 2019, after the village and all other impoverished Derung communities had been lifted out of poverty. How can the area reinforce these results?

Check out the video to learn more about Mu Wenjun's poverty relief work and the road ahead to prosperity for Kongdang village.

THE BIG THING: THE INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT OF THE YANGTZE RIVER DELTA REGION

The Yangtze River Delta region - consisting of the metropolis of Shanghai and the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui in East China - is one of the most dynamic growth engines in China.

Because of the region's unique geo-economic advantages in urbanization, industrialization, talent cultivation and digital revolution, the Yangtze River Delta region has been able to contribute about a quarter of China's economic output, despite its land area being merely 3.7 percent of the country's total.

In 2019, the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region was elevated to a national strategy, adding momentum to the region's growth. Watch the video for more details.

ECOLOGICAL PROJECT TURNS BACK SANDS OF TIME

China has made remarkable progress in reducing sandstorms in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region by planting more than 9 million hectares of forest in the past two decades, the forestry authority said.

During the period, about 51,000 hectares that had degenerated into sandy land had environmentally recovered, and more than 9.7 million hectares of grassland had been restored, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said at a recent conference.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei sand sources control project, which the State Council initiated in 2000.

According to the administration, forest coverage in the sand-source regions in Shanxi, Shaanxi and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region rose from 10.59 percent in 2000 to 18.67 percent today.

During the period, the regions' comprehensive vegetation coverage increased from 39.8 to 45.5 percent.

The project resulted in a significant improvement in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region's environment, according to the administration.

The average annual inhalable particle density in Beijing has declined from 162 micrograms per cubic meter 20 years ago to 68 mcg per cu m last year. During the period, sandstorms in the capital have also significantly declined from 13 to two or three per year.

In 2000, Beijing had only 177 days with fairly good air quality. Last year, that increased to 240 days.

The sand source control projects in surrounding regions have improved the environment in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

In Youyu county, in northwestern Shanxi province, the greening rate soared dramatically from 0.3 percent in the 1950s to 56 percent last year.

"Thanks to the joint efforts of many local planters, Youyu is turning from a drought-hit sandy land into a green paradise. So far, the county has nearly 113,300 hectares of forests and about 130 million trees," said He Tiancai, vice-governor of Shanxi province.

Youyu's change has helped boost a number of businesses. Shanxi Youyu Tuyuan Industries is one that benefitted from the county's improved environment and ecosystems.

Wang Tao, head of sales at Tuyuan Industries, said the company exports frozen scallions worth $7 million per year to countries including Germany, the United States, Norway and Australia.

According to the administration, in 25 counties in the sand source control project, production value from forestry-related industry rose from 649 million yuan ($95.56 million) in 2000 to more than 4 billion yuan in 2017.

In addition, 28 impoverished counties in the project area had been lifted from poverty by the end of last year.

"Although we've made great achievements in the past decades, the challenges are not negligible. China still has 930 counties threatened by land desertification, covering an area of 17,200 hectares," said Liu Dongsheng, deputy head of the administration.

He said forestry departments will accelerate work on building a sand prevention and control mechanism and motivate enthusiasm from all sectors of society to participate in the efforts.

Furthermore, he said, sand prevention and control should be promoted more scientifically, with different restoration plans made in accordance with local conditions.

TWO-WHEELED SAFETY ADVICE OFFERED BY VOLUNTEERS

On Mondays in autumn and winter, Hao Jixin often works as a voluntary traffic guide at busy crossroads in Beijing, offering safety advice to motorcyclists, scooter riders and drivers.

The 62-year-old only learned to ride a motorcycle about four years ago. She is a member of Beijing A Regiment, a motorcycle club in the capital that was founded in the 1980s and has about 2,000 members.

The members have been urged to act as volunteers offering guidance to ensure that road users obey traffic rules and stop their vehicles if people are using a pedestrian crossing.

The club has taken part in volunteer road safety activities since January 2018. Each weekend, the volunteers offer their services at crossroads in Xicheng district.

The club's founder, Li Ping, 63, known as "Madam Smile" for her happy personality, said, "As motorcycle riders, we always bear in mind that obeying the traffic rules is the most important thing for us while on the road, and we want to pass this advice on to more people."

Li said that when she formed the club more than 30 years ago, she set rules for motorcyclists who wanted to join. "They need to have the necessary licenses and permits and must promise to obey the traffic rules−a prerequisite for us to consider them as members," she said.

The riders must also wear protective clothing and helmets when they take to the road, she said.

"The club is like a big family, with members coming from various walks of life, but they have the same enthusiasm for motorcycling. Safety is always the priority, but our members also have fun," Li added.

She has had a passion for motorcycles for more than 30 years. When she was in her 30s, two motorcyclists took her for a ride in the suburbs of Beijing, and since then, she has embraced the feeling of freedom when she rides on roads through the mountains.

"Weekends and holidays mean so much to me, because on those days I have time to ride through the outskirts of the city," she said.

On Wednesdays, eight to 10 club members gather at Li's home to cook Beijing cuisine and discuss plans for the coming weekend.

In a corner of her living room, a map of China is dotted with little red spots, marking the places that Li and other club members have visited over the past decade.

Three-wheeled motorcycles, known as kuazi in the local dialect, were a fashionable means of transportation and entertainment among young people in Beijing in the 1980s and '90s, and even became part of pop culture.

However, in recent years, a large number of people, from commuters to delivery workers, riding motorcycles and scooters have frequently been blamed for breaking the traffic rules.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. - Anatole France