Quotable

"The 35 billion yuan ($5.7 billion) of online sales on Nov 11, Singles' Day, is barely enough to buy several parcels of land."

Ren Zhiqiang, chairman of Huayuan Group, on his micro blog after being challenged by Ma Yun, board chairman of e-commerce company Alibaba Group. Ma said the online buying spree on Nov 11 would shock real estate developers, because if people bought more online, sales in traditional department stores would be affected, dragging down commercial property prices.

"For a long time, people have tended to think that principals rather than local governments should be responsible for security incidents at schools."

Chu Zhaohui, researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, after the State Council approved a campus safety regulation making government leaders accountable for school safety.

"Confucius said that food is of the highest importance to life. I hope we learn something from Chinese wisdom and Chinese food."

Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, said Chinese food culture, famous for its long history, variety and abundance, has made a positive contribution to the cultural diversity of the world. The Chinese Food Festival opened at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York on Nov 12. Prominent chefs brought various regional styles of Chinese cuisine to the festival.

(China Daily European Weekly 11/22/2013 page2)