Professor Heads Building Institute

Chinese Professor Li Shirong has been named president of the UK-headquartered Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), as part of the organization's efforts to expand its global reach and influence.

Li formally assumed the presidency of CIOB on June 24. She is the first female president in CIOB's 175-year history and the first person from outside the UK and Ireland to head the professional body. CIOB represents a diverse range of professionals who work within the construction industry on behalf of the public.

Li, Deputy Director of the Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Commission of southwest China's Chongqing since 2007, is a veteran in the construction industry. After getting her Ph.D from the University of Reading in the UK in 1998, Li took a position as professor of construction management at Chongqing University (a role she now holds part-time). Her academic work focuses on issues such as China's construction industry in transition, sustainable urbanization and the role of government in construction. Li has to date published more than 170 papers and 27 books both domestically and internationally.

CIOB, with 43,000 members around the world, is considered the international voice of the building profession. Chartered Member status is recognized internationally as the mark of a true, skilled professional in the construction industry.

Veteran Gets Key Sports Post

Zhang Jilong, a seasoned Chinese "sports diplomat," took over the chairmanship of the Sports Committee of the Olympic Council of Asia at the 28th General Assembly of the council in Mumbai, India, on July 3. He replaced Wei Jizhong, another Chinese who resigned after taking the reins of the International Volleyball Federation in August 2008.

The powerful Sports Committee oversees the organization of Asia's five most important sporting events, including the Asian Games and the Asian Winter Games.

Zhang, 57, incumbent Vice President of the Asian Football Confederation and Chairman of the confederation's Finance and Marketing Committee, has been prominent in Asia's football family for many years. He is recognized in China mostly for his important role in helping the Chinese men's soccer team secure a berth in the World Cup finals in 2002.

Home Appliance Tycoon Released

Huang Hongsheng, founder and former chairman of Shenzhen-based TV maker Skyworth Group, was paroled on July 4, after spending nearly five years in jail in Hong Kong.

In 2004, Huang was arrested in an anti-graft campaign launched by the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption. He was sentenced to six years in prison in 2006 on charges of fraud and embezzlement of more than HK$60 million ($7.7 million) in company funds.

Huang, 53, created Skyworth in 1989. The company expanded rapidly under Huang's leadership, becoming the third largest TV maker in China in 2002, with annual sales of 6.9 million TV sets.

Though Huang still has a 40-percent stake in Skyworth, the current management of Skyworth said that the company had no plan to reinstate Huang's leadership role in it.