CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO AFGHANISTAN STAYS PUT

Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu and embassy staff announced they would stay in Afghanistan after the Taliban made their way into the capital of Kabul and took control of the country on August 15. Currently， Wang and other employees remain on post inside the embassy， which keeps operating.

According to Wang， the embassy has access to the Internet， though the network signal is less stable， and power occasionally blacks out.

He further noted that some Chinese nationals who stayed behind hope the embassy can help them return to China as soon as possible. As commercial flights have been suspended， they may have to wait until flights resume， Wang said.

Wang， 55， has been working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China since 1990. He assumed the current post in 2019.

Patient Companions

Beijing Youth Daily August 13

Recently， one particular “occupation，”namely that of patient companion， or someone who accompanies a patient to the hospital， has triggered some serious online debate. The service targets those who have to see doctors alone， such as the elderly whose children are unable to take care of them and those younger ones struggling with life outside their hometowns. The service helps reduce the loneliness of patients and helps their relatives save a lot of time and potentially money.

According to insiders， the service emerged around 2015， but disappeared two years later due to a lack of public understanding as well as a general unwillingness to give the initiative a go. Those partaking in the initiative then took a step back and first established a bond of trust with the patients so that the community at large could develop an awareness of the services they provide.

Hospitals should supervise the service to avoid disputes between doctors and patients who have someone accompanying them. Supervision is also vital to preventing infringement on a patients interests.

An Ideal Body

Lifeweek August 16

The body is an academic subject related to medicine， gender， sports and arts. In the modern conception， human bodies described by Greek sculptures are regarded as ideal models. The ancient Greeks believed that only perfect ratios and shapes could produce sound minds.

Body standards today have left many people anxious， with many trying to alter their body types through various means. Miao Qian， a Lifeweek reporter， has been recording his weight every morning for many years on Weibo， Chinas Twitterlike platform. “Weight has become a major concern for most people. It is perhaps a modern disease or an instinctive fear of aging and death，” Miao wrote in one article.