Looking ahead: Hopes for 2016

Looking ahead: Hopes for 2016

Updated: 2016-01-01 07:47

Major figures from academia, the military, social organizations and government predict their highlights for the year to come

1 Justin Yifu Lin, economics professor at Peking University and former World Bank chief economist

The economic slowdown will remain one of China''s major challenges next year. The world''s second-largest economy is suffering the longest decline in its rate of growth since the government launched the reform and opening-up policies more than 30 years ago. Year-on-year GDP, which contracted to 6.9 percent in the third quarter from 10.3 percent in 2010, is likely to continue to decline in 2016, as the overall economy is still in a cyclical downtrend which is seriously affected by the global economic recession environment.

To curb this slowdown, it is necessary to both push forward restructuring reforms, and introduce stimulus measures to stabilize growth. Only focusing on one aspect will result in the fast growth of unemployment or a systematical financial crisis.

It requires macroeconomic policies to stress supply-side reforms, as well as moderately expanding the demand. To increase effective investment is one of the methods to improve the quality of supply and promote industrial upgrading, which will at the same time increase people''s incomes while boosting domestic consumption.

2 Huang Jianxiang, sports commentator

I hope that more children will become interested in playing soccer and that they will be willing to devote more time to it－say, play once or twice a week. I hope teachers and parents will recognize the numerous advantages brought to children by playing soccer. It is my wish for 2016 that people will no longer think playing soccer is useless or even a negative thing to do, but agree that it is a good form of education.

3 Bernhard Schwartlander, WHO representative in China

I hope to see tobacco control in China take another leap forward in 2016 through the adoption of the draft national smoke-free law currently before the State Council. We''ve seen incredible progress this year, with the Beijing smoke-free law in effect since June. Beijing has shown that with a robust, comprehensive law, strong enforcement and publicity, and political leadership, it can be done!

This is great news for the 20 million plus residents of Beijing who are now protected from the harm of secondhand smoke. But there are hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens outside of Beijing who are exposed to dangerous secondhand smoke every day. This is very bad for health. We need to take the next step and extend the protection afforded by the Beijing smoke-free law to the rest of the country.

4 Li Yinhe, sexologist and sociologist

I wish you all a happy New Year. My short story collection, Black Knight''s Kingdom, will be published in 2016. I hope everyone will like it. I expect I''ll keep up my passion for writing and produce more stories and essays in the coming year. I hope that our country will achieve more progress, that society will become more diversified and more open to different voices and that all people will voice their opinions on important issues that concern everyone. Together we can discuss and explore paths to achieve social progress.

5 Xue Gang, volunteer dedicated to raising the quality of life of China''s WWII veterans

The year 2015 was a very special year, not only because it marked the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, but because in the past 12 months I''ve witnessed the deaths of more veterans than in any previous year. There were 12 of them, the last having died on Dec 19. I have a feeling that I''ve entered a running competition with time, but am always on the losing end.

To see the veterans, especially those who fought the invading Japanese as Nationalist soldiers more than 70 years ago, passing through Tian''anmen Square as part of the celebratory military parade on Sept 3 was a huge emotional comfort－and boost－for anyone who has championed honoring to the nation''s heroes for years.

However, as far as I know, the medals promised by the Central Government for every Chinese soldier who had fought for the sake of their country during the war haven''t materialized for many of the veterans. This is largely due to the lack of commitment at various levels of local government.

It''s my biggest hope that honors will arrive before it is too late.

6 Dai Bin, director of the China Tourism Academy

I am very confident that China will continue its fast-growth pace and see more innovations in the tourism industry in 2016.

Domestic tourism, as well as outbound and inbound tourism, will see rapid growth in visitor numbers, tourist consumption and revenue. Chinese tourists will enjoy more high-quality trips, thanks to the efforts of the tourism authorities and travel service providers. Tour companies in China will also see more mergers and acquisitions in the future.

Tourism will become a part of ordinary people''s lives and will have a positive impact on the macro economy, investment, the job market and even the reputation of our country. "Tourism" diplomacy has helped China''s voice be heard by the rest of the world.

7 Wesley Sneijder, soccer star from Holland and co-founder of Sport 8

I have seen the Chinese National soccer team''s recent struggles in the World Cup Qualification matches. As you may recall, the Dutch football team also failed to qualify for next year''s European Championship Finals. So I can definitely feel your pain. My company Sport 8 has been continuously bringing qualified Dutch coaches to China to help with soccer development, and I hope we can join forces to build a solid foundation in youth soccer training in China. This is the only way to create a soccer culture. Let''s make it happen.

8 Alistair Michie, secretary-general of the British East Asia Council and senior adviser to the State Administration for Foreign Experts Affairs

Looking forward into 2016, China has a great opportunity to become the chair of the G20. This means there will be growing international media focus on China leading up to the G20 Summit in Hangzhou in September. China could use this global media attention to explore new and more effective ways of communicating with the world. The reward for such innovation would be much deeper understanding of the reality of China today.

For those with a privilege to travel the world, it is obvious how different cultures communicate in different ways. What works inside China will not attract big foreign audiences. If China wants to win much better understanding, then it should look into great examples of Chinese media, which communicate in a style that optimizes the impact on Western audiences.

9 Wang Mengshu, tunnel and railway expert and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering

In 2016, China will continue its investment of 600 billion ($92.5 billion) to 800 billion yuan in the railway sector. The most important task is connecting Beijing with more provincial capitals, such as those in Northwest China, including Yinchuan and Lanzhou. Once the network is completed, resources in western China can be transported to the East at lower cost and with less pollution.

We also plan to improve the underground transportation systems in cities, connect subways with the railway system and move public facilities, including hospitals and schools, closer to subway stations. Such planning could ease traffic jams and curb emissions. In the past, we made transportation plans according to the location of major facilities. Now we need to work the other way around."

10 Liu Jianchao, director of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection

To date, nearly half of the corrupt Chinese officials that have fled the country are still at large in some major destinations, such as the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It is our priority to nab them, but we face difficulties. All countries should strengthen cooperation in law enforcement.

China and the US have decided to cooperate on some major cases, and we have also started a smooth dialogue with our counterparts in Canada, Australia and New Zealand on hunting down fugitives. With a deepening judicial cooperation, the fugitives'' happy days abroad will soon be over.

11 Yang Qiang, secretary of the board of the TAL Education Group

Looking ahead to 2016, I believe online education will experience further development and students will enjoy better, cheaper and more-efficient online learning, as technologies in this area keep improving. More complicated and advanced technologies, such as virtual reality and brainwave technology, will have opportunities to be applied to online education and may impact students'' learning patterns in ways that we haven''t imagined.

12 Zhou Zhonghe, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology

I would expect more interesting discoveries in paleoanthropology in the coming year. In 2015, a number of important fossils were unearthed, such as the 47 teeth excavated in Hunan province that belong to the earliest modern humans in East Asia, and a fossilized skull of Homo erectus found in Anhui province.

In the coming year, more clues about the origins and migration of modern humans will emerge, as careful examinations are carried out on the fossil samples.

In the past seven to eight years, Chinese paleoanthropologists have carried out a number of investigations and excavations that could lead to exciting new discoveries. Technological advancement in recent years, such as DNA extraction from ancient bones, will tell us more interesting stories behind those fossils.

13 Shen Jinke, spokesman for the People''s Liberation Army Air Force

I wish all readers of China Daily a happy New Year. I hope more young people will take an interest in the air force, and would like to join during the coming year.

14 Ying Songnian, expert in administrative law and professor at the China University of Political Science and Law

What I am looking forward to in 2016 is details about building government by rule of law. The central leadership has put forward the goal and planned to complete it by the end of 2020, but the urgency for the country is to provide more details or small goals at each stage in the next five years. Otherwise, it will be hard to say we have established a government by rule of law and difficult to convince the public.

15 Dimitri de boer, former team leader of the EU-China Environmental Governance Programme, and consultant for ClientEarth, a European environmental law group

The coming year will be a critical one for pollution control in China. Environmental departments have started to issue red alerts in Beijing, and everyone is now really fed up with the pollution－government, businesses, the public, all of us.

Expect government to become tougher on polluters. Prosecutors can now bring cases against administrative departments, and 2016 will see new regulations allowing provincial-level environmental departments to take over if lower-level authorities fail to carry out their duties.

Last year, the courts ruled in some of the first environmental public interest litigation cases brought by NGOs, and in 2016 we will see many more such cases as environmental NGOs continue to gain the required skills and confidence. In turn, let''s hope that all stakeholders appreciate the important and positive role NGOs play in the war on pollution. The emergence of environmental rule of law is one of the most exciting developments today and will be key in achieving China''s climate targets.

16 Liu Yongfu, head of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development

This year is the first year of China''s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), and we will write the guidelines to fight poverty, to fulfill the goal of lifting more than 70 million people out of poverty by 2020. In 2016, we will establish a database to record people who still live in poverty, set up provincial-level financial platforms to raise money and build county-level resource distribution hubs to manage money. We will also improve the evaluation system.

The central government is paying great attention to the poverty alleviation. By 2020, poverty will be eradicated in rural areas, and there will be no more poor counties across the country.

17 Jiang Chunliang, researcher at the PLA Academy of Military Science

In the coming year, the ongoing reform of the People''s Liberation Army will continue to streamline the command chain and organizations that have proved to be inefficient. The proportion of combat units and the officer-soldier ratio will be further improved, and the PLA is set to receive more-advanced weapons and equipment as the existing ones are upgraded. The overhaul will boost the military''s capability to perform not only combat operations, but also a wide range of noncombat missions. In addition, a number of PLA academies and schools will be transferred to local education departments, because the PLA will depend more on civil institutes to recruit and train new officers.

18 Li Jiaxiang, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China

In 2016, we will open at least 200 new air links with foreign nations and invest more funds to build infrastructure to support the Belt and Road Initiative. More training sessions will be held for civil aviation workers from nations covered by the Belt and Road initiative. Domestically, ensuring flight punctuality will remain a top priority for us, so we will open more large-capacity air traffic paths.

19 Liu Liqing, founding country director of Marie Stopes International China

Young people at the ages of 10 to 24 comprise 22.67 percent of the total population in China. We believe that they will play a more and more significant role in advancing comprehensive sex education in 2016, because they are the key to the solution. More youth-related organizations such as youth leagues, volunteer teaching organizations and social work agencies have been engaged in comprehensive sex education in 2015. With the Chinese government attaching more importance to sex education now and in the future, we hope that more parents will be willing to honestly discuss issues of sexuality with their children, more local NGOs will integrate sex education into their programs, more public and private clinics and hospitals will provide youth-friendly sexual health services.

20 Zhu Songling, director of the Institute of Cross-Straits Relations

The first and most important event for cross-Straits relations in 2016 will be Taiwan''s leadership election on Jan 16. No matter what result the election brings, Taiwan will have a new leader and a new legislature. The change could be a turning point for the Taiwan situation, and also a challenge for cross-Straits relations.

The new leadership''s attitude toward the 1992 Consensus is critical. On May 20, the new leader''s inaugural speech will be worth paying attention to, especially how cross-Straits relations are defined. I hope the exchanges will continue, as they will benefit people from both sides. Personally, I am not optimistic about the election result and cross-Straits relations after the change. Relations could enter a phase I call "cold peace", or even worse.