“We need to innovate ways of monitoring and strengthening supervision of Party officials， especially top leaders at the local level.”

Wang Qishan， head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China， commenting on the upcoming second round of disciplinary inspections at a meeting in Beijing on October 23

“I didn’t expect the smog to get even worse. I cannot even see the faces of those standing just 5 meters away.”

Liu Liwen， resident of Harbin， Heilongjiang Province， commenting on the dense smog in the city on October 21

“Last year， the working-age population dropped for the first time， a signal that China needs to make better use of its human resources.”

Hu Xiaoyi， Vice Minister of Human Resources and Social Security， commenting on a possible extension of the retiring age to ease strain placed on pensions by China’s aging population in Beijing on October 21

“There is no other country in the world where people attach so much importance to mastering a foreign language as the Chinese people studying English.”

Cheng Fangping， professor of education at Renmin University of China， supporting the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education’s decision released on October 21， to downplay the role of English proficiency in admitting students to high schools and colleges

MARATHON CHAMPION

Chinese runner Zhang Yingying clinched the women’s title with a time of 2 hours， 31 minutes and 19 seconds at the 33rd Beijing International Marathon on October 20， putting China on top for the 22nd year. Zhang， 23， also represented China at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the 5，000-meter and 10，000-meter events.

OFFICIAL FIRED

Ji Jianye， former mayor of Nanjing， capital of east China’s Jiangsu Province， was sacked， the latest move in a nationwide crackdown on corruption， on October 19. Ji stood down two days after it was announced he was being investigated for serious breaches of the law. He was removed from his post for suspected disciplinary violations， and is under investigation for corruption. Reports say that his case may involve more than 20 million yuan （$3.28 million）. Ji initiated a massive facelift campaign for Nanjing in 2009， bringing forth a torrent of complaints from residents over expensive bills and inconveniences to travel.