New Youth League Chief

Lu Hao has been reelected as first secretary of the Secretariat of the

Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) at the recently concluded First Session of the 16th CYLC Central Committee.

Lu, former Beijing vice mayor, was appointed to head the CYLC in late April, replacing predecessor Hu Chunhua, now acting Governor of north China's Hebei Province.

The 41-year-old Lu holds a Master's degree in economics from prestigious Peking University. He was successfully elected the youngest ever vice mayor of Beijing at the age of 35.

The CYLC, created in May 1922, has a membership of 72 million. Its constitution states that the CYLC is the assistant and reserve force of the ruling Communist Party of China. Many senior Chinese leaders have worked in the CYLC, including President Hu Jintao, who served as first secretary of the Secretariat of the CYLC Central Committee in 1984-85.

Young Heroine

Wang Bin, an 8-year-old pupil who lost her right arm in China's worst earthquake in more than five decades, gave an emotional boost to the

 entire nation when her bravery was heavily covered by media organizations on June 9.

Wang is a second-grader in Liangping County, Chongqing Municipality, which neighbors Sichuan Province where the quake struck on May 12. When the temblor jolted Liangping, Wang, who was in class, ran out onto the field safely. However, when she returned in an attempt to rescue students trapped in the collapsing school building, she was seriously injured. Unfortunately, doctors had to amputate her right arm as a result.

Despite the great pain, Wang began to learn writing and drawing pictures with her left hand after initial recovery from the amputation. She also joined psychiatrists and volunteers in her hospital to comfort other children injured in the quake.

Wang was released from hospital on June 9.

Women's Soccer Savior

Though the Chinese side lost the final of the AFC Women's Asian Cup soccer tournament on June 8, head coach Shang Ruihua and his players have won more acclaim than ever before due to their better than expected performance. In the semi-finals on June 5, China beat Japan 3-1 to end a two-year losing streak of three games.

The media and fans spoke highly of Shang's successful efforts to revitalize the Chinese team in only two months and, more importantly, rebuild players' confidence to win.

"We are heading in the right direction although we still have some work to do before we are ready for the Olympics," Shang said before the Asian Cup final.

Shang, 63, took charge of the Chinese team, one of the country's Olympic medal hopefuls, in April, after former head coach, Frenchwoman Elisabeth Loisel, was sacked due to successive defeats. With 35 years of coaching experience, Shang inspired China to finish the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup soccer tournament in 1991 in fifth place, and led China's U19 team to clinch the runners-up spot at the FIFA Women's World Youth Championship 2006.