Liu Jieyi, deputy head of Taiwan Affairs Office Liu Jieyi, China's former permanent representative to the United Nations, has been appointed deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, according to the office's website on Wednesday. He served as China's ambassador to the United Nations from August 2013 until last month, when he was recalled to Beijing for the new role. Liu, 59, a native of Beijing, started his career in 1981 in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He worked in the ministry's international organizations and conferences, arms control, and North American and Oceanian affairs departments. He also served as the deputy head of the International Department of Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Red Cross Society of China from May 2009 to August 2013. His wife, Zhang Qiyue, is the consul general of China in New York. Liu is known for his strong and firm attitude when representing China in the UN. The appointment of Liu stirred heated discussion in Taiwan, gaining massive coverage in local media in the last two days. Taipei-based China Times newspaper called Liu a veteran diplomat and recalled his tough and strong response in the UN in February 2017. The Taiwan issue is a domestic issue with complicated international indicators. It will better orientate the Taiwan question to have people with backgrounds in international relations and diplomacy working in the Taiwan Affairs Office, said Zhu Songling, a professor at the Institute of Taiwan Studies of Beijing Union University. The current head of the Taiwan affairs office, Zhang Zhijun, has been serving in the post since 2013. Prior to that, he worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPC. wristbands with a messagepersonalised rubber wristbandsfidget spinner bracelet202mm to inches
Graduates from normal universities in Hunan province interact with their potential employers at a job fair in Hengyang in March. [Peng Bin/For China Daily] A series of incentives have been rolled out in second-tier cities to woo college graduates pushed out of first-tier cities by skyrocketing housing prices and strict residency permits. Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan province is offering graduates Hukou, or residency permits, even before they get job. The graduates can get local Hukou by simply submitting their graduate certificate. The government in Changsha, Central China's Hunan province, has also introduced a no-threshold residency permits policy targeting university graduates. Graduates who get Hukou in Changsha also get subsidies in rent or buying houses in the city. This year saw a record of 7.5 million students graduated from China's universities and colleges. But China's first-tier cities, mainly Beijing and Shanghai, have tightened their control over residency permit policy, fearing an excessive influx of students from other areas would stress out local resources. Beijing has been capping its population as it pushes forward the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regional integration program. The capital has been moving out labor-intensive and polluting industries such as real-estate construction, steel, coal and mechanics. Soaring housing prices are also driving people out of the country's first-tier cities The outflow of graduates has been more voluntary in recent years, as students escape high-cost, high-pressure lifestyle in mega cities. Meanwhile, universities and governments of non-first-tier cities are also advising and assisting students to seek jobs in their cities. According to a report by 21st Century Business Herald, over 150,000 local graduates chose to stay in Wuhan, Cental China's Hubei province, for work in 2016. In contrast, only 100,000 made the same decision in 2013. However, it's still too early to say if the incentive policies would be able to retain graduates in the second-tier cities. Especially as many graduates find it harder to land a proper job in finance, internet and communications in second-tier cities. Wang Fang, who came to Wuhan from Beijing to work at an internet company, told 21st Century Business Herald that he is considering going back to Beijing. Many of the employees of the company, including me, did not get our salaries for months. Compared to first-tier cities, there are not many high quality enterprises in second-tier cities, he said.
