Unprecedented Taiwan Trip

Wang Zaixi, Vice President of the Chinese mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), has become the highest-ranking ARATS official to visit Taiwan in 13 years.

At the invitation of Chiang Pin-kung, Chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), Wang embarked on a one-week visit to Taiwan from July 6, during which he attended a symposium on China's modernization, and experienced the folklore of central and south Taiwan by personally visiting local farmhouses.

Though he denied having a task for cross-straits negotiations, Wang expressed hope that the mainland and Taiwan would enhance contact. He also indicated that Chen Yunlin, President of ARATS, would very likely visit Taiwan after the Beijing Olympics, a milestone in cross-straits ties.

ARATS and SEF, two nongovernmental organizations that are authorized to help deal with cross-straits exchanges, resumed bilateral talks in Beijing last month, after a nine-year break, resulting in agreements that allow chartered passenger flights across the Taiwan Straits on weekends and mainlanders' visits to the island.

The 67-year-old Wang, who served as vice minister of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council in 2000-06, was elected vice president of ARATS in May.

Volleyball Coach Seeks Answers

Though the Chinese women's volleyball team tasted bitter defeat at the 2008 World Grand Prix Final with only a 1-4 win-loss record, head coach Chen Zhonghe, who led the team to gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics, was not over duly worried about his team's poor performance.

"It is not that we lose that matters, but why," said Chen after returning home from Japan, noting that lack of physical strength, too many unnecessary mistakes and poor teamwork are major problems facing his players. Additionally, veteran players Zhao Ruirui and Feng Kun have long been tortured by injuries, and Chen will have to bring new faces into the squad to replace them.

The 51-year-old Chen successfully coached the Chinese women's volleyball team to the top spot in 2004, three years after taking over as head coach. The long-awaited victory for Chinese volleyball fans made him a national hero for his devotion to the team. But excessive drills and tournaments have worsened the players' injuries, hindering the team's buildup to the Beijing Olympics.

Lenovo's Recipe for Success

Head founder of computer giant Lenovo Group, 64-year-old Liu Chuanzhi, has always been considered to have the Midas touch when it comes to leading the way for a Chinese business to gain a competitive edge worldwide.

This year, after Lenovo became the first Chinese non-state enterprise to enter the Fortune 500 List, ranking number 499 with annual sales of $16.78 billion, he decided it was time to share his experience with other entrepreneurs.

At an industrial summit on July 15, Liu attributed Lenovo's success to its pioneering efforts to commercialize hi-tech innovations, compete with overseas industry leaders, establish a share-holding system and bring a scientific approach to corporate operation procedures.

Liu founded Lenovo in 1984 in Beijing. By acquiring IBM's PC business in 2005, Lenovo became then third largest PC producer in the world. Liu quit as Lenovo's president in 2006. He is now president of Legend Holdings that holds a controlling stake in Lenovo.