🎞️ Life#
Weekend Riverside Walk#
Last weekend, I accompanied a colleague for an early morning gastroscopy. We finished around 10 AM and walked from the hospital to the riverside, heading towards Lujiazui. It was my first time taking the ferry, and I felt a bit dizzy. Finally, I took the subway back from near the Apple flagship store.
Plog -> Vlog#
Recently, Douyin has become popular. I tried making one on Jianying. Although it's simple, it's indeed better and more engaging, highlighting the main subject.
1.02 Copy and open Douyin, check out [Siegward's works] # plog to vlog https://v.douyin.com/iFYu3WEj/ GiC:/ [email protected] 05/09
Two Sessions Government Work Report#
2024 Urban and Rural Residents' Basic Pension Monthly Minimum Standard Increased by 20 Yuan#
The government work report states that the monthly minimum standard for urban and rural residents' basic pension will be increased by 20 yuan, continuing to raise the basic pension for retirees and improving the national coordination of pension insurance. A personal pension system will be implemented nationwide, actively developing the third pillar of pension insurance. (Xinhua News Agency)
2024 Residents' Medical Insurance Per Capita Financial Subsidy Standard Increased by 30 Yuan#
The government work report states that the per capita financial subsidy standard for residents' medical insurance will be increased by 30 yuan. It promotes the coordinated development and governance of medical insurance, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals. It pushes for provincial-level coordination of basic medical insurance, improves the national centralized procurement system for medicines, strengthens regular supervision of medical insurance fund usage, and implements and improves cross-regional medical settlement. (Xinhua News Agency)
Launch of Second Round of Land Contract Extension for 30 Years After Expiration#
The government work report states that it will deepen rural land system reform and launch a second round of land contract extension for 30 years in pilot provinces. It will deepen reforms in collective property rights, collective forest rights, agricultural reclamation, and supply and marketing cooperatives, promoting the development of new rural collective economies. (Xinhua News Agency)
Comprehensive Elimination of Foreign Investment Access Restrictions in Manufacturing#
The government work report states that it will continue to reduce the negative list for foreign investment access, completely eliminate foreign investment access restrictions in the manufacturing sector, and relax market access in telecommunications, healthcare, and other service industries. It will expand the directory of encouraged foreign investment industries and encourage foreign enterprises to reinvest domestically. It will ensure national treatment for foreign enterprises, guarantee equal participation in government procurement, bidding, and standard-setting, and promote solutions to issues like cross-border data flow. (Xinhua News Agency)
Accelerate the Construction of a New Model for Real Estate Development#
The government work report states that it will adapt to the new urbanization development trend and changes in the supply-demand relationship of the real estate market, accelerating the construction of a new model for real estate development. It will increase the construction and supply of affordable housing, improve the basic systems related to commercial housing, and meet residents' rigid housing needs and diverse improvement housing needs. (Xinhua News Agency)
Accelerate the Construction of a National Unified Market#
The government work report states that it will accelerate the construction of a national unified market. It will formulate standards and guidelines for the construction of a national unified market. It will focus on promoting the unification of institutional rules in areas such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, and social credit. It will deepen comprehensive reform pilots for market-oriented allocation of factors. It will introduce administrative regulations for fair competition review and improve regulatory rules in key, emerging, and foreign-related fields. It will specially address issues like local protection, market segmentation, and improper competition in investment promotion, strengthening the regulation and management of the bidding market. (Xinhua News Agency)
Increase Income, Optimize Supply, Reduce Restrictive Measures, and Stimulate Consumption Potential#
The government work report states that it will promote stable growth in consumption. It will comprehensively implement policies from increasing income, optimizing supply, and reducing restrictive measures to stimulate consumption potential. It will cultivate and expand new types of consumption, implement policies to promote digital consumption, green consumption, and health consumption, and actively cultivate new consumption growth points such as smart home products, cultural tourism, sports events, and domestic "trendy goods." It will stabilize and expand traditional consumption, encourage and promote the replacement of old consumption goods with new ones, and boost large-scale consumption of smart connected new energy vehicles and electronic products. It will promote the expansion and quality improvement of services such as elderly care, childcare, and housekeeping, supporting social forces in providing community services. It will optimize the consumption environment, carry out "Consumption Promotion Year" activities, implement "Safe Consumption Actions," strengthen consumer rights protection, and implement paid leave systems. It will implement standard enhancement actions, accelerate the construction of a standard system that meets high-quality development requirements, and continuously improve the quality of goods and services to better meet the people's needs for improving their lives. (CCTV News)
Formulate Policies to Support High-Quality Development of the Digital Economy and Launch AI+ Actions#
The government work report states that it will formulate policies to support the high-quality development of the digital economy, actively promote digital industrialization and industrial digitalization, and promote the deep integration of digital technology and the real economy. It will deepen the research and application of big data, artificial intelligence, and other technologies, launch "AI+" actions, and create internationally competitive digital industry clusters. (Xinhua News Agency)
Actively Cultivate Emerging Industries and Future Industries#
The government work report states that it will actively cultivate emerging industries and future industries. It will implement industrial innovation projects, improve the industrial ecosystem, expand application scenarios, and promote the integrated cluster development of strategic emerging industries. It will consolidate and expand the leading advantages of industries such as smart connected new energy vehicles, accelerate the development of cutting-edge emerging industries like hydrogen energy, new materials, and innovative medicines, and actively create new growth engines in biomanufacturing, commercial aerospace, and low-altitude economy. It will formulate future industry development plans, open up new tracks in quantum technology, life sciences, and create a number of pilot zones for future industries. (Xinhua News Agency)
💭 Fragments#
Code is an asset for the company, and the company always encourages everyone to write more code. However, many people (especially management) do not realize that code is also a liability.
The more code there is, the more debt there is, which is what programmers often refer to as "technical debt."
"Technical debt" originates from a famous article by programmer Ward Cunningham. He wrote, "Delivering code is like being in debt."
The WyCash Portfolio Management System
📰 Weekly Excerpts#
Completely Solve the Charging Difficulties in Communities! Aion Launches "Group of 100" Activity to Build Charging Stations with 100 Applications#
The official slogan is
Participate in Aion's group of 100, initiate a group from today
Gather 100 Aion car owners in the same community
Aion will build charging stations in designated areas
With a base of one million car owners, forming a group is not a problem
Source
It seems like a national activity, but it is still mainly targeted at the Guangdong region.
Nongfu Spring's Zhong Shanshan Responds: The First Bucket of Gold Did Not Come from Wahaha#
Yesterday, Nongfu Spring's official WeChat account published an article titled "Zhong Shanshan: A Few Things About My Relationship with Zong Lao." Zhong Shanshan stated, "Zong Lao has always been an entrepreneur I respect. He is both a mentor and a friend to me, and of course, we are also competitors."
In the article, Zhong Shanshan mentioned that the fabric business was the first bucket of gold earned from entrepreneurship, not the online rumor that "the first entrepreneurial income came from Wahaha."
The article mentioned that during a sales meeting at Nongfu Spring, Zhong Shanshan joked, "The Wahaha we couldn't sell in Hainan back then was probably sold to Guangdong. If it were now, it would be considered as cross-selling. I didn't expect that a casual joke at the time would now become my 'ungrateful' accusation. I have never received a salary from Wahaha, let alone being fired for cross-selling."
Recently, rumors about the "grievances" between Wahaha and Nongfu Spring have circulated online, claiming that "Zhong Shanshan was an agent for Wahaha in his early years, and was disqualified as an agent due to cross-selling, then imitated Wahaha to establish Nongfu Spring," accusing Zhong Shanshan of being a "modern version of the farmer and the snake."
Source
Even the richest cannot bear the name-calling of "25 kids."
Ho Kwan-kai Represents: Suggests Increasing Young People's Annual Leave Days and Implementing Mandatory Paid Leave Policies#
"Currently, the implementation of work hours and paid annual leave systems in our country is not ideal, and there is insufficient protection for young labor." In response to the existing issues of "no leave," "unable to take leave," and "afraid to take leave" among the labor population, this year, National People's Congress representative and Hong Kong Legislative Council member Ho Kwan-kai plans to submit a suggestion titled "On Implementing and Improving Work Hours and Paid Annual Leave Systems to Promote National Economic Circulation and Enhance People's Happiness."
He suggests implementing mandatory paid annual leave policies, improving the legal responsibilities of enterprises that violate the law, and strengthening constraints on enterprises' implementation of annual leave. At the same time, he suggests modifying the current regulations on annual leave days in the "Regulations on Paid Annual Leave for Employees" to increase paid annual leave days based on years of service—employees who have worked for more than 1 year but less than 10 years will receive 5 days for the first two years, and then increase by 1 day each year, up to a maximum of 10 days.
Source
No More "Prime Minister's Press Conference"#
Although questions at press conferences are generally considered pre-set, the respondents often make unexpected statements, which to some extent shape the image of the then Prime Minister.
For example, Zhu Rongji, from Vice Premier to Premier, led China's economic reforms for a decade, facing high social complexity and reform difficulties. At the 1998 press conference, Phoenix TV's Wu Xiaoli asked, "The outside world calls you the 'Economic Tsar,' do you like this title?" Zhu Rongji replied, "I don't like this title." He continued, "But whether there are landmines ahead or a bottomless abyss, I will move forward without hesitation, dedicating myself until death." Such emotional expressions are rare among Chinese Communist Party officials.
Wen Jiabao spoke slowly at press conferences and liked to quote classics, rarely expressing anything out of line. Until his last press conference before leaving office, he made a rare statement on the particularly sensitive topic of "political system reform"—"I deeply understand that solving these problems requires not only economic system reform but also political system reform, especially the reform of the leadership system of the Party and the country... Now the reform has reached a critical stage, without the success of political system reform, economic system reform cannot be fully carried out, and the achievements already made may be lost, and new problems arising in society cannot be fundamentally resolved, and historical tragedies like the Cultural Revolution may happen again."
In the era of Li Keqiang, his style changed, speaking quickly and lightly, fond of using "golden sentences"—for example, "Using the 'pain' of reducing government power to exchange for the 'comfort' of enterprises and the public." Li Keqiang's economic background sometimes reveals a unique understanding of the Chinese economy. For example, at the 2020 press conference, Li Keqiang said, "600 million people with low and middle incomes have an average monthly income of only about 1,000 yuan," which sparked heated discussions.
On March 13, 2023, Li Qiang met with Chinese and foreign media for the first time as the Premier of China, which will be the only press conference during his current term until the closing of the national "Two Sessions" in 2028. He did not leave any "golden sentences," perhaps due to his style or possibly intentionally.
A car can only have one steering wheel to reach the destination 🫡
France Enshrines Abortion Rights in Constitution, Becoming the First Country to Do So#
French lawmakers voted 780 to 72 to enshrine the right to abortion in the constitution, a first in the world. This historic decision came after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Although some criticize that French rights are not under threat, with 80% supporting legal abortion, this move is seen as a positive step in safeguarding women's rights.
Source
For a developed country with a serious lack of birth rate, it's hard to understand; are they going to rely purely on immigration?
However, I personally support abortion rights within a certain range.
Migraine Log – Simple Recording and Statistics of Each Migraine and Medication Use#
Migraine Log is an application specifically designed to record and track personal migraines, supporting both iPhone and Android. Its design is very simple; you just need to fill in the date and intensity of the attack, while also recording whether medication was taken and adding brief notes. You can visually see the data in the built-in calendar and export it as an HTML page, making it very practical for those with migraines.
Source
International Gold Prices Near Historical Highs, Multiple Brands of 24K Gold Jewelry Listed at 650 Yuan per Gram#
With the continuous rise of the gold market, the price of 24K gold jewelry has surpassed 645 yuan/gram, setting a new historical high. Not only in the sales market, but the gold recycling business is also exceptionally hot, with recycling prices nearing 490 yuan/gram. As gold prices continue to climb, the future direction of the gold market is highly anticipated.
Source
OMG
The Government Work Report Mentioned These New Hot Terms#
Huang Renxun "Uses It Almost Every Day"! Will Perplexity Be the "Future of Search"?#
Recently, Huang Renxun was asked in a media interview, "Do you use ChatGPT or Bard frequently? Or do you use other products?"
Huang Renxun stated, "I generally use Perplexity, and I use it almost every day." For example, when he recently wanted to learn about computer-aided drug development, he used Perplexity for searches.
What kind of company is this that allows Huang Renxun to use it every day? Perplexity claims to be "the world's first conversational search engine," with the core mission of challenging Google's dominance in the search engine field.
Unlike Google's traditional search engine, Perplexity does not simply provide website links but uses advanced AI models to provide direct and accurate answers to users' search queries, enhancing search efficiency and making the search process more intelligent; compared to generative AIs like ChatGPT, it is more timely and traceable.
Source
The industry seems to feel this is the right direction, namely original search engine results + AI responses
Including the EU's you.com, Baidu's simple search.
Also, adding a plugin to traditional search to display AI response results.
TikTok Plays Hardball: Mobilizes Platform Users to Flood Congressional Members' Phones in Opposition to Latest Bill#
On March 8, news broke that two days ago, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, along with the China Select Committee, unveiled a bill that would force TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest its ownership of the app within 165 days.
On Wednesday evening, TikTok pushed a notification on its app, warning users that a "full ban" would "harm millions of businesses, disrupt countless creators' livelihoods nationwide, and deprive artists of their audiences."
After asking users to input their postal codes, TikTok guided users to call their congressional representatives, letting them "know what TikTok means to you and tell them to vote against it."
A senior Republican aide in the U.S. told Axios's Juliegrace Brufke, "Students, young people, adults, and business owners are all worried about losing access to the platform, and their phones have been completely flooded." The bill's sponsors angrily responded to the so-called "mass mobilization campaign," emphasizing that if ByteDance divests ownership, TikTok will not be taken down.
Source
Last time during Trump's administration, Zhang Yiming was almost on the ground, having been targeted by Didi as an example. Let's see how he reacts this time.
If I may say, since data and R&D have been separated from the domestic market and a R&D center has been established abroad, there is already enough confidence to respond. If it is banned due to its Chinese background, it can simply be taken down from the U.S. market; the world is so big.
Also, the country strongly supports implementing the same bill against Apple; let's see how effective that is, as Apple makes much more money than ByteDance.
I fully support the country in banning Apple; my family bucket can just be exchanged for Huawei.
Dragon Ball Author Akira Toriyama Passes Away at 68#
The official Dragon Ball website announced the passing of Japanese manga artist and "Dragon Ball" author Akira Toriyama on March 1, 2024, due to acute subdural hematoma, at the age of 68.
Akira Toriyama's most famous work, "Dragon Ball," has had an extremely wide influence not only in Japan but also globally.
Since its first serialization in 1984, the series has been translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide. The animated version has also been loved by audiences around the globe.
The "Dragon Ball" series has generated sales of billions of dollars across manga, animation, films, games, and various merchandise, becoming one of the most successful media franchises in the world.
Akira Toriyama's artistic style, especially his character designs and narrative methods, has had a profound impact on many later manga and anime creators. Many popular works, such as "One Piece" and "Fairy Tail," have been influenced by "Dragon Ball."
Source
Dragon Ball is really good.
Hefei's Low-altitude Medical Drone Transport Route Officially Launched, Blood Center to Hospital in Just 14 Minutes#
The newly launched routes revolve around the Anhui Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital's main campus, East District, West District, and the Provincial Blood Center, with a total of 6 routes. The longest route takes 25 minutes, while the shortest takes 8 minutes. Among them, the route from the Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital (East District) to the Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital (West District) is the longest at 21.2 km, taking about 25 minutes to fly, while the route from the Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital (main campus) to the Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital (East District) is the shortest at 6.6 km, taking about 8 minutes to fly.
Source
Developing low-altitude transport is very important, and I hope to enhance the entire industry chain to reduce costs.
Xiaopeng's Flying Car "Traveler X2" Successfully Flies Over Guangzhou CBD for the First Time, Has Obtained Special Flight Permit#
Xiaopeng today announced that its flying car "Traveler X2" successfully completed low-altitude flight in the urban CBD area from "Tiande Plaza to Canton Tower."
It is reported that the Traveler X2 took off vertically from the super-class A office building cluster at Tiande Plaza in Guangzhou's Tianhe District and flew towards the iconic Canton Tower in automatic driving mode, crossing landmark sites in Guangzhou such as the Guangdong Provincial Museum, Huacheng Square, and Haixinsha Asian Games Park. This flight route can be used for future urban air traffic and is also a very scenic low-altitude sightseeing route.
Xiaopeng's Flying Car "Traveler X2" Successfully Flies Over Guangzhou CBD for the First Time, Has Obtained Special Flight Permit - IT Home
👍
iPhone Sales in China Plummet, Urgently Needs This Year's "Largest Update Ever" to Turn Things Around#
This image perfectly showcases Huawei's appeal among consumers in China
Moreover, I believe that at least for the next three years, Apple's AI capabilities will lag behind the mainstream.
📚 Articles#
New Antitrust Enforcers#
In today’s newsletter, I want to help you understand the emerging crackdown on big technology companies. The European Union yesterday imposed a $2 billion fine on Apple, and regulators in the U.S. are pursuing cases against Amazon, Google, Facebook, and perhaps Apple.
In today's newsletter, I want to help you understand the emerging crackdown on big technology companies. The European Union yesterday imposed a $2 billion fine on Apple, and regulators in the U.S. are pursuing cases against Amazon, Google, Facebook, and perhaps Apple.
These legal cases are often complex, and I know that some readers find them hard to follow. But the underlying ideas can be clearer than the details. My goal today is to give you a framework for making sense of a major economic and political story.
These legal cases are often complex, and I know that some readers find them hard to follow. But the underlying ideas can be clearer than the details. My goal today is to give you a framework for making sense of a major economic and political story.
Almost 15 years ago, a law professor named Tim Wu published a book called “The Master Switch” that helped me to understand this issue. In the book, Wu used a term — “the cycle” — to describe what happened after a new form of communication arrived, be it the telephone, radio, or internet.
Almost 15 years ago, a law professor named Tim Wu published a book called “The Master Switch” that helped me to understand this issue. In the book, Wu used a term — “the cycle” — to describe what happened after a new form of communication arrived, be it the telephone, radio, or internet.
Initially, he explained, new communication industries are diffuse, dominated by small players. The barriers to entry are low. In the early days of radio, amateur stations proliferated, much as the early internet was quirky and offered few opportunities for profit.
Initially, he explained, new communication industries are diffuse, dominated by small players. The barriers to entry are low. In the early days of radio, amateur stations proliferated, much as the early internet was quirky and offered few opportunities for profit.
Over time, though, the new industry tends to become concentrated for a reason: Almost every form of communication depends on a network of users. And larger networks are inherently more valuable than smaller networks.
Over time, though, the new industry tends to become concentrated for a reason: Almost every form of communication depends on a network of users. And larger networks are inherently more valuable than smaller networks.
Once a radio station becomes popular, more people want to listen to it so they can know what other people are hearing, and more companies want to buy advertisements. The same is true with the internet: If all my friends have an Instagram account, I’ll want one, too. This cycle is reinforcing, causing large companies to grow even larger. It’s part of what economists call “increasing returns to scale.”
Once a radio station becomes popular, more people want to listen to it so they can know what other people are hearing, and more companies want to buy advertisements. The same is true with the internet: If all my friends have an Instagram account, I’ll want one, too. This cycle is reinforcing, causing large companies to grow even larger. It’s part of what economists call “increasing returns to scale.”
But consolidation brings a major downside for society. Communication businesses can become monopolies, with the power to set prices and control society’s discourse.
But consolidation brings a major downside for society. Communication businesses can become monopolies, with the power to set prices and control society’s discourse.
For most of the 21st century, regulators in the U.S. and other countries allowed technology companies to grow ever larger. (Consider this statistic: The combined stock market value of Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and the parent companies of Facebook and Google has more than doubled since just the end of 2019.) Only recently have regulators begun to step in.
For most of the 21st century, regulators in the U.S. and other countries allowed technology companies to grow ever larger. (Consider this statistic: The combined stock market value of Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and the parent companies of Facebook and Google has more than doubled since just the end of 2019.) Only recently have regulators begun to step in.
The Biden administration has made antitrust enforcement in the technology sector a top priority. “The president knows that vibrant capitalism depends on strong competition,” Lael Brainard, Biden’s top economic adviser inside the White House, said yesterday. “Competition lowers prices, raises wages, and levels the playing field for small businesses.”
The Biden administration has made antitrust enforcement in the technology sector a top priority. “The president knows that vibrant capitalism depends on strong competition,” Lael Brainard, Biden’s top economic adviser inside the White House, said yesterday. “Competition lowers prices, raises wages, and levels the playing field for small businesses.”
One sign of the change is Wu himself. When he published “The Master Switch” in 2010, he was a professor at Columbia University. Four years later, he ran a doomed campaign for lieutenant governor as a critic of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and concentrated corporate power. Since then, however, both Democratic and Republican policymakers have become more concerned about Big Tech — and Wu is no longer just a gadfly. After President Biden took office in 2021, he appointed Wu as an adviser.
One sign of the change is Wu himself. When he published “The Master Switch” in 2010, he was a professor at Columbia University. Four years later, he ran a doomed campaign for lieutenant governor as a critic of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and concentrated corporate power. Since then, however, both Democratic and Republican policymakers have become more concerned about Big Tech — and Wu is no longer just a gadfly. After President Biden took office in 2021, he appointed Wu as an adviser.
Source
The EU previously lacked autonomy, leading to being monopolized by American tech companies, greatly compressing the survival space of local tech companies.
This is a point we cannot compare with.
To protect local tech companies, restrictions on foreign companies must be imposed, regardless of whether this is reasonable, but it is certainly correct.
There needs to be space and time for latecomers to catch up.
Essentially, it is still about the U.S. becoming weaker.
Exclusive Late Post: Alibaba's Core Business Interactions Frequent, Business Listing Plans Have Changed#
Content Overview#
The article discusses Alibaba Group's business adjustments and reforms in recent years:
- Alibaba has implemented an organizational reform of separating procurement and sales, establishing new positions such as "prescriber" responsible for proposing product demands, while the procurement department plans purchases based on market research needs.
- Alibaba has also made cross-border business a strategic priority, transferring the head of Tmall Fashion, Ji Yun, to lead the Lazada brand and the supply operations team for small and medium-sized businesses.
- In terms of departments, Alibaba has undergone a "1+6+N" reorganization to promote more flexible and independent market-facing operations.
- Frequent interactions between Alibaba Group entities allow employees to move freely between different business groups. There are continuous actions in business collaboration and personnel flow to adapt to the current market environment.
Recommendation Reason#
The article details how Alibaba Group responds to challenges and seeks growth through a series of strategic decisions and operational optimizations in the face of market challenges and internal business adjustments.
The article not only focuses on Alibaba Group's core businesses, such as Alibaba Cloud and Hema, but also deeply analyzes its layout and strategies in emerging business areas, such as AliExpress and local life services. Through in-depth analysis of Alibaba Cloud, Hema, AliExpress, and other businesses, the article reveals the measures Alibaba Group has taken in pursuing profits and controlling costs, as well as how it adjusts strategies to adapt to new challenges in changing market environments.
Additionally, the article discusses Alibaba Group's strategies in capital management, including innovative methods for realizing asset value and changes in spin-off listing plans. These contents are not only significant for investors and business analysts but also provide readers interested in Alibaba Group's development dynamics with an opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of its operations and strategic adjustments.
Excerpt#
By the end of November 2023, Alibaba Cloud established a public cloud division, pursuing scale with the goal of expanding market share, and is aggressively hiring; the hybrid cloud division, on the other hand, is pursuing profits, cutting 30% of its team, and the project-based business for customizing industry solutions for government and enterprise clients has also been cut, with a significant reduction in loss-making proprietary cloud orders.
Customization is indeed a necessary move for the market, but all the profits from the cloud are lost here, especially in government projects.