People In the Know

Two promising students, a poisoning, and two irreversible deaths: a seemingly normal criminal case has drawn so much attention that it has left every one of us shivering and reflecting on what happened.Lin Senhao, a medical student at the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai, dropped a deadly chemical into a water dispenser in the dormitory, which poisoned his roommate, Huang Yang.Lin was sentenced to the death penalty for intentional homicide. Despite a petition letter from his fellow schoolmates calling for leniency, the Supreme People's Court made the final verdict, upholding Lin's death sentence.So was the death sentence too harsh? What's the implication of this case on the criminal code reform?First, PIK talked with Guo Jing, Associate Professor, College for Criminal Law Science, Beijing Normal University.After the tragedy, people have been questioning the place of ethics in our education system. What is missing?For more on this, PIK talked with Gregory Yinnien Tsang, Current affairs commentator.

In the ongoing development of Chinese society, the ageing population presents a looming crisis on a not so distant horizon. Low birth rates, an early retirement age and increasing life expectancy have created a situation with which the current pension system is already beginning to struggle. So what needs to be done? How can we adapt to cope with this demographic transition? And, perhaps the most important question for millions of Chinese workers, how much might the retirement age be raised? Ni hao you are listening to People In the Know, presenting you with insights into the headlines in China and around the world. I'm Zheng Chenguang in Beijing. To find out more, Nick Lanigan spoke to Dr. Lu Bei, Research Fellow at the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research, and Mr Stuart Leckie, chairman of Stirling Finance.

This year's annual central economic work conference has

concluded, with the Chinese government vowing to continue its structural

economic reforms and innovation-driven strategy.The leadership is giving

priority to reforms on the supply side, which aim to lift production levels and

to use land, labor and capital more efficiently.Several detailed

measures have been put forward for the reform, concerning reducing industrial

overcapacity, deleveraging, and lowering business costs.Another

significant aspect of the measures regards the property sector.A

statement issued after the meeting says the government will promote mergers

between different property developers, encouraging them to lower housing

prices.It also encourages rural residents to relocate to urban areas and

to be allowed to register as city residents, enabling them to buy or rent

property.The central government has also pledged to populate a low-rent

public housing program to cover those without household registration.So

will these measures be effective enough to boost China's economic growth? What

does reform on the supply front entail? And how big of an impact will the new

strategies have on China's property market? To answer all

those questions and more, we are joined by Professor Zhang Jun, Dean at the School of Economics,

and Director at the Center for Chinese Economy, Fudan University in

Shanghai; and Liu Baocheng, Associate Professor at

the Business School of the University of International Business and

Economics.

The 10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade

Organization has concluded in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.After five

days of intense discussions, the 162 WTO member countries reached a breakthrough

agreement for the world trade system.The new Nairobi Declaration

includes the elimination of agricultural export subsidies, and further tariff

reductions for information and technology products.According to the

declaration, developed nations will eliminate their scheduled farm export

subsidies immediately, while developing countries will get rid of theirs from

2018.The conference has also approved the accession of Liberia and

Afghanistan into the WTO.So how significant is the deal on agricultural

exports? Is the WTO still relevant to global trade? In today's

program, we are joined by David Morfesi,

Principal at Morfesi Stewart Consulting, an international trade and development

consulting firm based in Adelaide, Australia. Once a US

delegate to the WTO, Mr. Morfesi shared with us his views on the latest WTO

conference； and Einar Tangen, Former

Chairman of the State of Wisconsin's International Trade Council, and Winston

Wong, Managing Director of Shipstone Group Limited.

After years of negotiations, the free trade agreement

between China and South Korea and that between China and Australia have both

taken effect on Dec. 20.The China-Australia FTA means that tariffs will

be lifted on 95 percent of Australian exports, hurdles will be lowered for

Chinese businesses to invest in Australia and more visas will be granted for

Chinese visitors.Australia is also a member of the US-led TPP signed

earlier this year. How will Australia handle its position of standing in between

the US and China?First, PIK talked with Professor

James Laurenceson, Deputy Director of the Australia-China Relations Institute,

University of Technology SydneyDespite the concerns

over employment, the China-Australia FTA is widely popular with the general

public, agricultural sectors and service sectors.What about the FTA

between China and South Korea? Under this deal, Seoul and Beijing will each

eliminate tariffs on more than 90 percent of traded goods within 20 years after

the implementation of the agreement. Just how beneficial will this agreement be

to the Korean economy after it takes effect?We are now joined by

Dr. Chang Yong Ha, Assistant Professor, Peking

University HSBC Business School:The FTAs that China

has signed with countries in recent years are playing important roles in further

expanding bilateral trade and investment, and facilitating the free flow of

capital, goods and people.So how is China's FTA strategy going? Next PIK  spoke to Prof. Zhang Jianping, Director

of the Department of International Economic Cooperation, Institute for

International Economic Research, National Development and Reform Commission.

2016 has been declared the 'China-US Tourism Year', a chance for the tourist industries of both countries to engage, interact and learn from one another. So, what can we expect from the coming year? What's the situation for bilateral tourism between the US and China? And is tourism the key to increasing mutual understanding and cooperation? With the new year coming up in just a few weeks, PIK spoke to Dr. Shen Han, Deputy Secretary-General of the International Tourism Studies Association (ITSA) and Associate Professor in the Tourism Department at Fudan University, Shanghai, and Prof. WANG Youcheng, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Research at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida; the host of an upcoming USA-China Tourism Research Summit.

The 2nd World Internet Conference has opened in Wuzhen, in east China's Zhejiang province.At the opening ceremony, President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech, urging all countries to jointly build a community with a shared future in cyberspace.Xi put forward five proposals to achieve this goal.He called for efforts to speed up the building of global cyber infrastructure and to promote inter-connectivity.While discussing the construction of an online platform for cultural exchanges and mutual learning, he also highlighted the innovative development of the cyber economy for common prosperity.In addition, Xi called for measures to maintain cyber security and promote its orderly development.To promote equity and justice, the president proposed to build an Internet governance system, which features a multilateral approach with multi-party participation.So what can we read between the lines of President Xi's speech? How hard is it to create a community with a shared future in cyberspace?PIK spoke with Victor Gao, Current affairs commentator, Dr. Andreas Weigend, former chief scientist at Amazon.com, as well as Chen Yuxin, Dean of Business and Distinguished Global Professor of Business at New York University of Shanghai, and Einar Tangen, Former Chairman of the State of Wisconsin's International Trade Council.

"A hospital is the last patch of humanity in the chaos of war zones", yet medical facilities and staff are constantly being attacked while they are saving other people's lives.This is a ruthless truth without borders, and this is Doctors without Borders or MSF. The organization has suffered 3 attacks in Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria in just two months. Despite the deaths and dangers, MSF still works on the frontline of conflict zones where medical help is needed the most.So how does MSF respond to these attacks? And what are the stories behind the scenes?PIK talks with Dr. Joanne Liu, MSF's International President.

The world has reached a new agreement on a draft climate change deal after nearly two weeks of negotiations in Paris. The agreement was adopted without any objection by the 196 parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.The agreement calls for limiting global temperature increases to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, but has an ultimate goal of keeping temperature rises below 1.5 degrees. It also has a goal of setting aside 100-billion US dollars a year for developing countries from 2020. Each country's progress, it is suggested, should be reviewed every 5 years.Next, nations must ratify or approve the deal individually. It will only take effect if it is approved by 55 countries. Those countries' greenhouse gas emissions must represent 55% of the world's total.The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was formed in 1992. Nations were committed to combating climate change, but without a detailed action plan until 1997, when the Kyoto Protocol set out plans to cut global emissions by about 5% by 2012 compared to 1990 levels.The adoption of the deal in Paris has been praised by many countries, including China. Speaking at a news conference in Paris, China's Special Representative on Climate Change and chief negotiator, Xie Zhenhua, pledged China's determination to create an environmentally friendly future.So, how is the new deal regarded by energy experts? What is the world's next step in combating climate change? And how would experts assess China's efforts in this field?PIK had a dialogue with Dr. Michael Mehling, Executive Director of the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research in the US, and Professor Jiang Kejun from the Energy Research Institute under China's National Reform and Development Commission.

When China first opened up to the outside world in the late 1970s, it presented vast opportunities for Western investors. It also required great vision and courage to invest in this remote, oriental nation, then still mysterious to the West. Switzerland was among the very first Western nations to set foot in China. Their vision and courage paid off. Ranging from industrial manufacturing to food and pharmaceuticals, Swiss companies have today made their presence felt across China. The China-Switzerland FTA, which came into effect in 2014, added a new arrow to the China-Switzerland trade quiver.So, how have China-Switzerland business ties developed from past to present? How can both sides make further advancement in bilateral trade and investment?In today's program, PIK is joined by Kurt Haerri, Senior Vice-president of the Swiss Schindler Corporation, a leading global provider of elevators, escalators and related services. Mr. Haerri is also former president of the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce.