Master of the Screen

Han Sanping (right) (XINHUA)

Chinese film producer and distributor Han Sanping has confirmed he will step down from chairmanship of China Film Group Corp. (CFGC), one of the major distributors and exporters of Chinese films.

Han, who has been at the helm of CFGC since 2007, has played a pivotal role in the expansion of the Chinese movie industry. Since he became the president of Beijing Film Studio, which is now a subordinate of CFGC, in 1994, he has produced more than 100 films, including joint productions with numerous established film directors from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, such as Chen Kaige, Peter Chan Ho-sun and Stephen Chow.

Godfather of E-Commerce

(XINHUA)

Jack Ma, the founder and Chairman of Alibaba Group, the e-commerce titan in China, announced on March 16 that the company had chosen Wall Street as the site of an initial public offering that may value the firm at up to $120 billion.

Founded in 1999 and armed with a staff of more than 20,000 employees, the company's business-to-business online portal brings together Chinese manufacturers with foreign buyers across more than 240 countries.

The reason for Alibaba to list in the United States is that the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq allowed a corporate structure that gives top executives the right to nominate a majority of the company's board members even if their holdings are not substantial.

"Right now, with the rapid expansion of the market, there is a need to combat the growth of gambling in mobile games and related products. "

Yu Yi, a Beijing-based game analyst

"We anticipated an increase in the number of extremely wet years in the 21st century, while the likelihood of droughts still remains."

Shun Chi-ming, Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, at a press briefing on March 17

"The scandals of kindergartens secretly feeding children anti-viral medication that have been discovered in several cities have caused enormous pain to these children's parents. We urgently need to fill the legislative gaps to protect our children."

Guo Wenjing, a netizen on People.com.cn

"The main culprits behind the declining physical conditions of students are boring PE classes and our score-oriented education."

Shi Yangguang, a microblogger on Sina.com.cn, commenting on a recent survey on the health of primary and middle school students in Beijing, where 20 percent of respondents were found to be obese and boys exhibited a drop in forced vital capacity