Quotable

I believe I can beat it. Machines are very strong in many ways but have gaps in some of the calculations they make."

Ke Jie, the world's top weiqi (go) player, believes he has got what it takes to beat the artificial intelligence program AlphaGo, which has just thrashed South Korean grandmaster Lee See-dol. However, Ke says his chances of winning are shrinking as AlphaGo "learns" at a stunning pace.

"In many regions, people are poor not only materially but also culturally. For every 100 yuan ($15) a farmer spent in 2015, less than 3 yuan went on entertainment, buying books and magazines or any other cultural activity."

Li Hui, a national lawmaker who is also director of Hunan province's Department of Culture, citing figures from a survey conducted by the provincial cultural authorities.

"It is right to say the Chinese movie industry is in a golden era, but its foundations are weak, not only in terms of technique, but also in the level of professionalism of film crews."

Feng Xiaogang, a leading director in China, who was addressing fellow members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, bemoaned the lack of professionalism among the country's film crews.

(China Daily European Weekly 03/18/2016 page2)